


A Rabid Animal

by ChangeTheCircumstances



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, Suicidal Thoughts, lots and lots of angst, sort of a collision between movies and comics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-26
Updated: 2014-06-16
Packaged: 2018-01-26 15:02:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 31,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1692593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChangeTheCircumstances/pseuds/ChangeTheCircumstances
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky finds it hard to understand why anyone would love him. Sometimes ending it all seems like a more valid option until an incident proves he's more useful alive than dead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I didn't kill them

**Author's Note:**

> Just wanted to say this takes place after Iron Man 3 by like, a year or two? Maybe? And a couple of months after Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

The cold, hard form of the gun was a welcomed feeling underneath Bucky’s chin. Nevertheless, he did have to take remove it to stop the shouting.

“Why do you care? Why do any of you care?!” yelled Bucky. Steve, Sam, and Natasha turned silent, the looks of panic still on their faces. “I’m a weakness. All I do is keep you guys up at night. Parts of my memory disappear and I’ve nearly killed you guys more than once!”

“That doesn’t matter James,” Natasha argued. “It’s not your fault.”

“So when I wake up with no memory of you and strangle you to death, it’s not my fault? I can’t risk doing that! I’m defective! I’m not even human. I’m a rabid animal!”

“Bucky,” Steve interrupted, taking a step forward. However, Bucky moved the gun back to the place below his chin causing him to stop. “Bucky, we understand the risks. Why do you think we stay with you? We wouldn’t do that if we didn’t care.”

Before anyone could say anything further though, Sam rushed behind him and wrestled the gun out of his hand. The moment it was gone, Bucky collapsed to the ground and Steve and Nat were there as well.

“I wake up screaming in the middle of the night,” murmured Bucky. “I forget who I am. I forget who you people are. I’ve hurt all of you in one way or another.”

“But we can take care of ourselves,” Steve promised, pulling Bucky closer. “We don’t need protecting.”

* * *

Some people might have thought that it could get confusing, all the legs and arms tangled up. But Bucky could always tell which arm was caressing him, which leg was wrapped around him. Steve was the most well built the largest, then himself, then Sam, and finally Natasha. All of them had scars, rough skin, and their own wounds. They all even had their own nightmares.

But only Bucky woke up screaming.

Only Bucky might look at someone and forget who they were.

He was the only one who forgot himself.

Usually he dreamt of the experiments, the assassinations he’d been sent on. The times on the helicarrier or the bridge with the others when he’d nearly killed them appeared as well. Every now and then memories of the thirties and forties would move through his mind. It was always memories and never things Bucky made up.

But maybe it was because of the day’s events, the stress that had been put on him. Because Natasha, Steve, and Sam were all there and what was happening wasn’t a memory.

Bucky was killing them. And not just killing but mutilating their corpses, destroying any dignity they had left. And with his broken mind, the event might as well have been a memory.

So when he woke up, Bucky didn’t feel the warm bodies against him. All he saw was blood on his hands, in his noise and eyes. It was everywhere and he did the first thing he could think. He screamed. He tore at the sheets as tears fell down his face and he shouted and screeched. Bucky didn’t even realize he was screaming specific words, his voice growing strangled the louder he shouted.

As his voice grew hoarser and less pronounced, Bucky could finally hear what he was saying.

“I didn’t kill them. I didn’t kill them. I didn’t kill them.”

Over and over it went in his head like a broken record. As if to prove the point, he finally realized Steve was rubbing his back in soothing circles and Natasha had already pulled him close. Sam kissed Bucky’s neck and then let his head rest on the curve of his collar bone.

When Bucky was finally able to form a sentence other than, “I didn’t kill them,” he said, “Why? Why do any of you stay?”

“Because I love you. We love you,” Steve responded. “And you don’t just let loved ones go.”


	2. I can't be fixed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I only recently just got an archiveofourown account and have updated all my fanfiction to my FF account by the same name and profile pic. I'll catch this story up and probably transfer more stories over to here.

Bucky often found it impossible to go back to sleep after a nightmare. For the first time in a while however, he almost immediately collapsed, falling back into his broken memories. When he awoke, screaming and shouting, it was to an empty bed. His heart suddenly racing, he tried to recall the night before but everything was just as real as the next. He was somewhat able to calm himself upon Natasha entering the room.

“Where’s Steve?” The words came out in a hurry as if the man might be six feet under. “Sam? Are they—?”

“They’re probably still jogging. Or at least Rogers is. Wilson is probably wheezing under a tree by now?” she replied, allowing an easy smile to set upon her face.

Nodding with understanding, Bucky rolled his neck and stretched his limbs. As Natasha walked out of the room, she yelled back, “I think Steve was planning on making breakfast when he got back but I’m sure there’s something in the kitchen if you’re hungry!”

“Alright,” Bucky replied even though his voice was probably too soft to hear anyways. He stood up, taking off the already sweated through shirt and went in search of another. He kept his eyes away from the sheets, the memory of the blood soaking them and covering his hands still too real.

When he got to the kitchen, he stopped upon seeing Natasha standing in front of him with a pair of scissors. She waited for Bucky to say something but as it soon became clear he didn’t know what to say, Natasha simply rolled her eyes.

“You can get that terrified look out of your eyes. I’m not going to stab you with them,” she replied. “Come on. I think it’s about time for a haircut. Don’t you?”

Subconsciously, Bucky ran a hand through his ragged hair.

“Here, I already got a chair and everything,” Natasha said, dragging it out from under the small kitchen table. “Now sit.”

Bucky wasn’t sure why the thought of getting his hair cut was scary. Nevertheless, the resolve in Natasha’s face convinced him to sit down. He remained completely still as she began clipping away. His eyes slowly followed the strands that fell onto the cloths and floor. Finally, he felt Nat run a hand through his suddenly short hair, getting any remaining strands out.

“Go look in the mirror. And don’t you dare say you still think you should go to a barber. I did a perfectly fine job,” Natasha said, following Bucky into the bathroom.

Looking at himself, Bucky’s mouth automatically started to curl upwards only to have a feeling of panic occur. He realized why he didn’t like it. He looked too much as he once had. He didn’t deserve that look. The look of a hero. He shouldn’t have let Natasha cut his hair. He should still look like what he was. A rabid animal.

“Thanks,” he finally said, his voice not betraying anything.

“Your welcome.” The sound of the back door opening was suddenly heard along with muffled discussion. “That’ll be Wilson and Rogers. I’ll go see how badly the Falcon’s ego was destroyed today while you take a shower.”

She closed the door behind her as Bucky turned back to face himself in the mirror. Carefully, he parted his hair, flipping it to the side that he had kept it on during the war. Once again, his mouth began to turn upwards only to have his metal arm catch the light.

All at once the spell was broken and Bucky was messing up his hair as quickly as possible. Trying to calm his breathing, he looked back in the mirror and what he saw was a little less tamed, a little more feral. With a sigh, Bucky touched the beard that was steadily growing on his face. Steve had kept asking him when he was planning to shave it but he decided that it was still too soon, especially now that his hair was short again. He couldn’t allow himself to look normal. Bucky couldn’t reveal such a lie to the world.

He showered, put his clothes back on, and made his way to the kitchen. For two people the place would’ve been perfect but with four the small dining table was too crowded so they always ate in the living room. Plates and cups had been laid out as Steve moved back and forth between pans and the stove.

“Need any help?” Bucky asked.

“I’m good. But thanks for…” trailing off, Steve did a double take before allowing a smile to appear. “Looks good on you. But no, I’m good. Sam and Natasha are already in the living room.”

Bucky wanted to yell back that it didn’t make him any more healed. That he was still a monster, but he simply nodded and moved into the next room. Sam and Natasha were arguing about something that Bucky quickly heard involved Nick Fury.

“You know he’s not your boss anymore,” Sam finally grumbled.

“Maybe not but he’s still a friend.”

“Who is _supposed_ to be dead. He shouldn’t be running any missions. Especially since he doesn’t even have an organization any more. Take my side Bucky!” whined Sam, finally looking up. Much like how Steve looked, only a bit more shocked, he said, “I like it. Definitely suits you.”

“Natasha did it.”

“Yes, I’m wonderful at hair. Now back onto the more pressing matter. Just because all our secrets have been blown doesn’t mean secrets have suddenly stopped existing.”

“She does have a point there,” Bucky responded, sitting down in one of the armchairs instead of the couch. The couch was big enough for three people though when it was movie night they all managed to squeeze on to it. Otherwise, Bucky always sat in his armchair, no amount of persuading ever convincing him to move.

“But you’re supposed to side with me,” Sam growled, crossing his arms. “Steve, you’ll side with me won’t you?!”

“I also have to agree with Nat. Besides, I’ll be going with them. Sorry. You’re on your own Sam!”

“And anyways,” said Natasha as she rolled her eyes, “you’re probably just jealous that I have another bird pal besides you.”

“First of all, I am not jealous of freaking Katniss. Second of all, I can’t believe Steve is going with you too.”

“I know you probably hate hearing this but I doubt I’ll be retiring for quite some time,” Steve replied as he walked into the room and handed over a plate to Bucky and then Natasha. He paused for a second, looking longer at Bucky before adding one last thing. “Fury thinks he might have found another Hydra base.”

Sam’s eyes widened as Natasha threw an excusing look over at Steve. Bucky wasn’t looking at anyone, his fingers ever so slightly twitching.

“I should go then.”

“Bucky, I know you want to but you’re still healing,” replied Steve.

His fingers twitched again before he set his plate of food onto the small table next to his chair and then left the room without another word. The moment he was gone, Bucky could hear the argument flair up.

“You shouldn’t have told him, Rogers.”

“Well I couldn’t just lie to him.”

“What about me though? I could go with you too…”

Bucky allowed the voices to dwindle away as he went to the backyard. He rarely went outside, never liking how the sun usually glinted off his metallic arm. Right now he needed a place to be alone though and the bedroom still smelt like blood in his mind.

The idea of going after Hydra, it felt like dangling from a rope, unable to see where he was climbing to or where he might fall. Going to the base could not only bring up certain unanswered questions about his past, but it could also be the closer he was looking for. He knew it was more likely that he would simply tumble deeper down into the abyss though.

Bucky hears the footsteps behind him and is about surprised that he recognizes them as Sam’s. He’s memorized each of their strides and breathing patterns. Usually Steve was the one to try and talk to him, comfort him in some small way. It made Bucky curious at what Sam might have to say but also yearn for something more familiar.

“It seems like we’re both booted off this mission,” Sam began, moving to stand right next to where Bucky was. “Why do you want to go after Hydra?”

Clenching and unclenching his fists, Bucky responded with, “I’m not completely sure. Any hints about my past, more information on what they did to me, I’m not sure I ever want to know. And most of the men I blame are already dead anyways. I suppose it’s more so that I have a sense of purpose.”

“Everyone wants a purpose. But I have to agree with Steve. You still need time to heal.”

“Not everything that is broken can be fixed.”

“I disagree with that. No matter how much you pulverize something, you can still put it back together in some shape or form. It may look different from what it originally did, but that’s the point of experience. If it didn’t change us, then there would be no point in doing anything new or different. You’ll certainly be a different man by the time you fully heal. We just have to wait and see who that man is.”

“And you don’t think that’s a dangerous idea? What if I turn out worse than I am now?”

Sam shrugged. “Well there you got me. I like to call it faith.”

“Why have faith in me?”

“I don’t think I’ve met anyone who has had a shittier life than you but you’re still standing; you still try. Besides, even if you fall down and get back up, we’ll all be there to drag you around the final lap,” Sam replied, squeezing Bucky’s shoulder. “Come inside when you’re ready. Natasha and Steve won’t be leaving until the day after tomorrow.”

Bucky only gave a nod, not moving from his post. No one else came outside and for that he was thankful. The day moved on as he barely moved; only occasionally running a hand through his hair. Around noon, when the clouds had begun to gather and it looked like it might rain, Bucky finally turned to head back inside.

His metallic arm looked less robotic without the blaring sun shining on it. It made him feel better and worse all at once.

“I can’t be fixed.”


	3. I'm afraid I'd hurt you

Bucky made his way back into the house only to find Sam and Natasha both gone.

“Sam’s at one of his meetings. Natasha went to get more information on the mission,” Steve said from where he was reading. He looked up with a worried expression and Bucky always hated it. The same expression had been on Steve’s features before the war, during the war, and even in the twenty-first century. He always wanted to make sure Bucky was alright. Such a feat was harder said than done, Bucky not much one for words.

“We could go get pizza. See if there are any books at the library that you’re interested in,” added Steve.

“No thanks.”

Steve kept trying to get him out in the world as well. Granted, if Bucky had a hard time simply stepping out the front door then it made little sense as to why Steve or Natasha would let him join in a mission. He simply felt detached from the world. He was sure Steve had felt the same at first. The man had slowly integrated himself into the twenty-first century however, making Bucky still feel alone.

And of course Steve was the only one with the closest experience to what had happened to Bucky. Once again though, it wasn’t similar enough and Bucky couldn’t help but wonder if Steve felt a similar sense of separation from him.

Thinking on this caused the room to almost fizzle out in front of him. From where he was standing, everything was fuzzy and dark. In the distance, he faintly heard Steve calling out his name.

In response he yelled, “Steve? Steve!”

His voice echoed into the darkness as Steve’s voice only grew fainter. The sad thing was that this wasn’t the first time Bucky had found himself trapped inside his own mind. He was still just as scared however.

The world rotated itself and he went from standing to laying flat on his back. Bonds wrapped around his wrists and the idea that the event was a memory slipped from his mind.

It was the forties again. He was trapped in an enemy camp. He was being tested on. He struggled every time he got the chance but Hydra only beat him down again. And then Steve was there. He was way taller than the last time Bucky remembered but he was there and they were getting out. Everything was going to be okay. The war would end and it would all go back to normal. Bucky would be happy. Steve would be happy. It would all—

“Buck?”

And once again he slipped back into the present as if moving between realities and the crushing pain of realizing where he was fell on him. However, he managed to simply say, “I’m fine. I’m here.” He paused for a second, allowing a shaky breath to escape his lips. “Did I say or do anything?”

“No, you just collapsed. Are you sure you’re alright?”

Bucky gave a small nod, excepting Steve’s hand to help him get up. “I probably just need something to eat.”

Giving a small nod, it was obvious Steve didn’t believe him. Nevertheless, Bucky was glad that he didn’t ask him what he had just experienced. Sam and Natasha never asked either. He knew that they were sometimes as curious as hell but their respect for his privacy was something that made him love all of them.

He went to the kitchen and ended up just eating off his abandoned plate of cold food from breakfast.

Bucky wondered how different his life could have been if Steve had been able to reach him in time. He couldn’t blame Steve for what happened, but he couldn’t help but wonder. Often he wished he hadn’t survived the fall at all. Certainly some lives would’ve remained less tarnished if that had occurred.

Such thoughts always led to the idea of putting a bullet in his head. This wasn’t one of his bad days though. For now anyway, the thoughts of suicide were distasteful. Besides, when he was in calmer moods like at that moment, he always reminded himself about how devastated the others would be if he ever went through with it. They had sacrificed so much of their time to help him. It would be cruel to leave the world then and there.

Bucky soon moved back to the living room and found the most recent book he’d picked up. He hadn’t been able to read much fiction, some of the events and ideas making him want to throw up sense many read it for enjoyment. Instead he read another bibliography, trying to catch up with the world before it completely left him behind.               

* * *

Sam smirked as he saw Natasha at the end of the hallway. Before he could say anything, she walked up to him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“You know, people are going to start getting confused as to who I’m dating if you do that every time we meet up here.”

"Don’t tell me Steve kisses you in public,” Natasha replied, raising a perfect eyebrow.

“Oh he doesn’t. But sometimes I do it to him just to watch him blush,” said Sam with a laugh.

Natasha’s lips twitched upward as she gestured back the way she had come. “Want to go have coffee before we go home?”

“Sure thing.”

They took Natasha’s car, Sam having walked, to a small café that they occasionally went to with Steve. Sometimes it was just Sam and Steve, other times just Steve and Natasha, but Bucky had only been convinced once. Nothing terribly bad had happened but it had been clear that the notion of socializing still frightened him in some form.

As they walked into the place and stood in line for their coffee, Sam asked, “So anything else you can tell me about the thing with Cap and Katniss?”

“You’re just as bad as Stark. He always calls Clint Legolas,” Natasha replied. “But no, I can’t tell you anything more.”

“Figured as much but I thought I might as well try.”

“I will tell you that this could be extremely important to taking down all of Hydra. Fury finally got into contact with a small group from SHIELD, one that he fully trusts.”

“I thought he didn’t trust anyone.”

“He doesn’t really. I suppose it’s more accurate to say he has more faith in this one,” said Natasha as they finally came up to the counter.

They ordered their coffees, waited on the side, and finally moved to a table outside. It was getting chilly. The leaves on all the trees were slowly turning and pumpkins were becoming more common in all of the grocery markets.

Sam crossed his legs and leaned back in the chair, took a sip of his coffee, and then said, “Well at least tell me the real reason why I’m not going. I’m pretty sure I know it already though.”

“It’s not because your skills wouldn’t be useful if that’s what you’re thinking. No, you would probably be a great help but not only is this more of a sneak in and sneak out mission, at least for the moment, but….there’s also James to consider.”

“That’s what I figured. Why not let Steve stay behind though?” asked Sam. “I know; he’s useful for just about anything but you know how sometimes Bucky falls into those holes and only Steve is the one that can bring him out.”

"I understand but Steve is essential to this mission. Or at least according to what Fury said. Besides, James “fell down the hole”, as you put it, not too long ago and it takes a while before he gets that dark again. We’ll be back by then. You two will be fine.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it if he tried to come after you guys though. I mean, I hope he doesn’t, but I wouldn’t doubt it,” Sam continued.

Taking out her phone, she asked, “Your phone please.” After handing it over, she pushed a few buttons, typed in a number and then handed it back to Sam. “If he disappears, for whatever reason, call Tony Stark through this number. You’re more likely to get in touch with him than me and he will probably be able to find Bucky in less than an hour if it isn’t too long sense he’s disappeared.”

“’Kay, I’ll try that then. Are you sure there’s nothing else you can tell me though?”

“Positive. Sorry Sam. Fury’s orders.”

Sam rolled his eyes at that but didn’t question it, taking another sip of his coffee.

It wasn’t long until they both made it back home but once walking inside, they found that Steve and Bucky weren’t there. It wasn’t until they made their way out back that they finally found them. They were sparring, which was really quite shocking. Bucky never sparred, never did anything extraneous. It was obvious that he never did it because he was afraid he might hurt someone and yet here they were, fighting it out.

“You boys been doing this the entire time we’ve been gone?” asked Natasha.

“No,” Steve said, automatically taking a step back as Bucky did the same, arms lowered. “I finally convinced Buck to do something besides sit around and read.”

“You do realize that just because you suddenly start training again doesn’t mean I’m going to allow you to come on the mission right?” Natasha asked.

“Of course,” Bucky said with a small nod. “I simply wanted to move around a bit more.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow but didn’t question it, turning back around and saying, “Fury gave me some documents which you should probably look over when you get the chance Rogers.”

“I’ll look at them now,” Steve replied, wiping his brow and walking back towards the house. “Thanks for the match Bucky.”

He nodded, watching him go before turning to look at Sam. “What?”

“Sorry,” Sam said, shaking his head. “It’s just been a while sense I’ve seen you fight. The last time had to have been—”

“I know,” Bucky interrupted. The last time he had fought anyone was when Sam and Steve finally found him. It hadn’t been the first time he had tried to kill them but as of now it had been the last.

Cocking his head to the side, Sam said, “This was more of a venting fight than a simple sparring match wasn’t it.”

Bucky turned, avoiding eye contact as he turned silent. It took him a few seconds before he finally replied back with, “I got lost in a few memories today.”

“A few? Like, more than one.”

He nodded.

Sam resisted the urge to flinch. Usually only one memory occurred in a day. “Was it that bad?”

“They were actually quite happy ones,” Bucky replied. “So many times today I thought I was safe but it was just a lie.”

“Sure you don’t need to go a few more rounds then? I’m not as breakable as I look,” Sam commented.

Bucky looked shocked by the offer but quickly shook his head. “No. I’m fine.”

“You really are a terrible liar. Come on, throw a few punches.”

Bucky just looked away again, his metal arm clenching and unclenching, the sound of the plates moving against each other. He shook his head and walked past Sam. The whisper was barely audible but Sam heard it nonetheless. The voice was pained, sad, wary, with a truthful note that could not be ignored.

“I’m afraid I’d hurt you.”


	4. I didn't know them

Sam was shocked by those words. _I’m afraid I’d hurt you_. He cared about Bucky. He felt an over whelming amount of sorrow for Bucky as well but he also enjoyed his presence. Bucky was smart, kind, and Sam loved how every now and then he’d make a snarky comment with a look like he hadn’t gone through hell. But he couldn’t help but always wonder what Bucky felt for him, if he really cared.

Those words had answered the unspoken question in his mind. Granted, Steve really was the only one that could hold his own against Bucky in a one-on-one fight. But, if Bucky hadn’t cared at all for Sam, then after all the crap he had experienced that day he probably would’ve thrown a punch. Yet instead, he honestly admitted that he thought he would hurt Sam in some way and that he didn’t want that to happen.

It saddened Sam that Bucky didn’t believe he had enough self control, but the concern and honestly was nice.

He followed Bucky back into the house, Natasha and Steve having already gone into the small computer/office room Sam had to discuss the mission. Bucky went into the living room and picked up his book. Before opening it though, he gave a quizzical look to Sam who perched on the arm of his chair.

“Do you need something?” Bucky asked.

“No, not really.”

“Oh.”

Sam waited for more but when it was clear Bucky didn’t really know how to continue, he asked, “What are you reading now?”

“Uh, a book on J. Edgar Hoover. He was pretty well known back then but there are a lot of things he did that I missed out on. I know the FBI is apparently a big part of the government now so I figured that I should read up on it and its first director.”

“Hmm, I can see that being interesting. Got any plans for who will be up next on your list of books?” asked Sam.

“At least one more person from the fifties and then I’ll probably start off with Kennedy and the sixties,” replied Bucky.

“Sixties were pretty interesting,” mused Sam. Cocking his head to the side in thought, he finally said, “I know you’re not really planning to pick up anything fictitious at the moment but I have a few books that you might like.”

Bucky gave him a doubtful glance but nodded for him to continue.

“There’s _To Kill a Mockingbird_ , _Flowers for Algernon_ , _the Wednesday Wars_ , and _Where the Sidewalk Ends_ ,” said Sam. “They’re fiction but they’re also pretty good examples of what life was like during the times they were written. Except for _Where the Sidewalk ends_. That’s a book of poetry.”

“And they’re all good?”

“ _The Wednesday Wars_ might be hard to get into because it was written more for kids but I wouldn’t say they’re all good. I hated reading _To Kill a Mockingbird_ in school. I got through about half a chapter and was done with it.”

“Then why suggest it to me?”

“Because you can’t just read non-fiction to get to know a decade. The fiction part, the creative part, is just as important too. Besides, you might like the book anyways. Just promise me that you’ll read one of them,” said Sam.

Giving a small nod, Bucky replied, “Fine. But you have to listen to the Coon-Sanders Orchestra with me sometime or Irving Aaronson and His Commanders.”

“Ah, come on. I bet they’re from the thirties of something.”

“Twenties actually, and if I’m trying book suggestions then you’re going to have to try some music suggestions.”

Sam put his hands up in surrender. “Alright, but one of these days you will listen to something a little more hip. If I can get Steve into some more recent music, then I’m sure I can do the same for you.” he said with a laugh.

* * *

The next day, Sam convinced Natasha and Steve to sit down and watch a movie since they would be gone the next day for a still unknown amount of time. He said it was one of his favorite movies and Natasha agreed it was a good film. Steve tried to get Bucky to watch it but he declined.

However, when only about a sixth of the movie had gone by, Bucky had heard an interesting song being played. It was sung in Spanish and had an almost haunting tune to it causing him to move to the living room so that he could hear it more clearly.

Natasha, Steve, and Sam all noticed him but none of them said anything, waiting to see if Bucky would stay or not. When it became clear that he wasn’t going to move from his spot in the doorway, Steve finally suggested he sit down. Bucky made a move towards his chair but before he could make it Natasha had jumped up and pulled him onto the three person couch.

Squished together but comfortable, Bucky watched the movie unfold. He hadn’t missed much and so caught up pretty quickly. Apparently a choir boy had killed the Archbishop of New York but he claimed there had been someone else in the room.

The story centered on the lawyer and the boy himself. It was an older movie but it was still fascinating to Bucky when he compared it to the quality of films during his own time. Radio had been a big form of entertainment growing up as well so movies still felt fairly surreal to him.

When it became understood that the boy had a split personality, Bucky wasn’t too surprised. Such a twist was certainly more dramatic than actually having a third man in the room. He continued to sit and watch it, enjoying the music as well.

Though he didn’t appreciate some of the aspects of the film, overall it wasn’t bad and maybe under different circumstances he would’ve enjoyed it even more. However, at the end, a connection was made that froze his heart.

It turned out the boy had never had a split personality and that he’d been playing the lawyer and the entire court the whole time. Immediately, Sam and Steve launched into discussion over that particular part. Bucky gave a small smile and said, “Good movie,” before getting up and going, not wanting them to see how shaken he was.

Because all he could think of was Alexander Pierce, the most common face in decades of lies. In some small way, he’d been the most trusted person for Bucky at that time. Every sentence Bucky had taken as truth. Every word he’d lapped up, never questioning any mission or hidden motive.

He’d been played, controlled, tossed around like a puppet on a string just as the lawyer had been by the kid.

Bucky hadn’t thought of Pierce in a while so it wasn’t too surprising that his nightmare that night would center around the man.

When he awoke, it felt as if his heart had exploded, from the act of beating to fast. His head was filled with screeching tires and blood. There was a woman and a man, splayed out on the road but he couldn’t see either of their faces. Then there was Pierce, congratulating him on a job well done. The praise meant nothing now as he saw the two lives he had ended.

It took sometime before he felt the arms that were wrapped around his waist and had pulled him closer.

“Steve and Natasha already left,” came Sam’s voice before Bucky could panic about the absence of arms and legs.

Bucky stayed still, letting his heart settle down as he tried to align his breathing with the soft strokes that Sam was doing up and down Bucky’s arm. Bucky couldn’t tell if Sam was asleep or not but the words came out anyway.

“I didn’t know them.”

"Hmm?”

“The people in my dream. I can’t remember them at all. They were probably married. Maybe even had a kid,” murmured Bucky. “I killed two good people and I didn’t even know them.”

“Would knowing them make you feel any better?”

“I honestly am not sure.”

Sam was silent for a moment. “A lot of Hydra’s secrets are out there. We could try and find them if you want.”

“Perhaps.”

Bucky lay silently, listening to Sam’s breathing until it became more even. He wondered what good learning anymore of his crimes would be. He couldn’t help the people he had killed. He couldn’t change the past. But likewise, he didn’t really have a choice. Whoever those people in the car crash had been, he’d probably find out soon enough what with the way his memory sometimes worked.

He hadn’t been able to tell what time period it had been though. Bucky could’ve known them. He hoped he hadn’t.

With a sigh, he lay there, waiting until morning came and Sam finally awoke again.


	5. Let's go get Frosty

Fury flew Natasha, Steve, and Clint out to a desolate part of Russia, the closest landing spot to the Taiga. The plane was small, Natasha flying, Clint Co-Pilot, with Fury and Steve in the back.

“So, this former agent of SHIELD, is anyone else with them?” asked Steve.

“He has a team but they won’t be accompanying us,” replied Fury sourly. “They still don’t know that I’m alive. The agent only recently found out as well. You actually know him.”

“Who?”

"I think it’s better if you see him for yourselves.”

"Come on Nick,” Clint suddenly said, “you gotta tell us. The suspense is crushing me already.”

“First of all, I don’t care where we now socially stand, call me Nick again and I’ll cut off a finger. Second, you’re not the only one who can fly a plane, meaning if I throw you out that door there we’ll be perfectly fine.”

“You’d at least throw me off with a parachute right?”

“Eyes on the skies Barton,” Fury growled as Clint shot his hands up in surrender.

“Okay, while we’re all agreeing to not throw each other out of this aircraft, we need to discuss this experimentation on other people,” Steve interrupted. “It makes sense that they would try developing different abilities for different missions and purposes, but do we really have zero ideas on what those could be?”

“Sadly yes,” Fury replied. “Nor do we know if such an individual is at this particular facility. We know that information which may lead to the test subjects is there, but not if such test subjects will be present at the time of infiltration.”

“How could they have even gotten people? Surely someone had to have known people were going missing,” Steve said. “Especially if done on a large scale?”

“If they did, I’m sure they were either heavily paid or silenced,” replied Natasha. “Or the people could have been donated by Hydra agents.”

Steve gave a small grimace at the thought of just having a child to only experiment on. The sad thing was that it wasn’t the most disturbing thing he’d ever seen. Turning to look out the window, he saw that they were fast approaching the landing area. A small black dot grew larger and larger.

“I see we have a welcoming committee,” commented Steve but Fury only grunted in response.

After landing, the four of them climbed out of the plane. A figure waited for them, the hood covering the face. The man stepped forward, tipping the hood upward so that the face was revealed.

“Captain Rogers, Romanoff, Barton,” the man said, a small smile on his face. “I would ask you if you’d sign my trading cards but somebody thought it would be fun to put blood all over them.”

“I told you I was sorry,” Fury growled out but none of the others were listening.

For a moment there was only silence and then Clint was yelling out, “You bastard!” just as Steve rushed forward to hug Coulson. Natasha clenched and unclenched her fists before turning around and performing a hard backslap to Nick Fury.

“It’s only because you’re no longer my superior,” Natasha stated in a somewhat cold voice.

“Well, even if I still was I wouldn’t fire you,” replied Fury as he rotated his jaw. “I’ll admit; I deserved that.”

Coulson was still a bit shocked at being completely crushed by Captain America, the process taking him a few moments before he wrapped his own arms around Steve. As Steve pulled away, he looked Coulson up and down before shaking his head.

"They said you were dead.”

“To be honest I was, for quite some time,” Coulson responded. “Fury didn’t lie to you about that.”

“Either way I’m glad you’re alive. God, Tony and Bruce will be thrilled for sure. Thor will probably tackle you to the ground or fly you up several hundred feet,” said Steve with a weak laugh.

“Oh I don’t know. I was never that important.”

“Of course you were!” shouted out Clint as he stopped glaring at Fury. “And you were our handler! The only reason we didn’t morn was because New York was under attack. I swear, if you pull a stunt like that ever again Fury I’ll—”

“Shoot an arrow into my one good eye? I get the picture Barton. Now, how about we all go inside before we completely freeze.”

Natasha gave a nod of agreement as Coulson turned, heading back to what looked like nothing at first. However, stepping forward a scanner appeared and Coulson spoke out his name. Soon, what had once looked like a mound of snow covered rocks was opening and they all stepped in, the door closing behind them.

The structure looked like it could comfortably hold up to ten people, meaning that was plenty of room for the five of them.

“Fury mentioned you had a team,” said Steve as he eyed the hallway they stood in. “Where are they?”

“At a different base, quite far from this one,” replied Coulson. “We’re currently tracking down a former member of ours. He…turned out to by Hydra sadly.”

Steve looked down, knowing how hard when you thought you knew someone and it turned out you didn’t. “I’m sorry Coulson.”

“It’s my own fault I didn’t see it,” muttered Coulson. “But enough on that, let me show you around. The place isn’t very big has some fun toys in the back room. I think it even has another bow for you Barton and new arrows.”

Clint grinned as they made their way back. Then the real planning began.

* * *

Bucky didn’t leave immediately. Two, fairly regular days passed. Sam even convinced Bucky to come to one of the meetings and despite his shrug; he seemed to have enjoyed himself. However, after the third morning, Sam awoke alone. Already he was jumping up. He kept his voice calm at first but when he found no note and a lack of Bucky, Sam finally started to call Natasha.

Before he could finish doing so, he remembered what she’d said to him and canceled the call, instead going to his contacts and found Tony Stark. Though he’d heard plenty of Stark, his exploits, Iron Man, and the Avengers, he’d never met the man in person.

Sam briefly wondered if the man had ever heard of him, and if so, if he had even taken time to remember such a name.

“Listen, if this is about superhero business I have dinner planned with my girlfriend this evening so—”

“I don’t know who you think I am, but my name is Sam Wilson.”

About a second passed before Tony said, “Ah, so you’re the other bird brain that Steve and Nat talk so much about. She mentioned you might call but not why.”

“There’s someone I need you to find for me. His name is James Barnes but you probably know him as—”

“You mean Mr. Freeze! I’ve wanted to meet him. I’ll find him within the hour. See you then!”

“No! I think it would be—” But Tony had already ended the call. As Sam wondered if he should still get in touch with Natasha, Tony was telling Jarvis to get the plane ready.

“Should I send a message to Ms. Potts as well?” asked Jarvis.

“No, she’d probably start yelling at me that I’d miss dinner.”

“You mean you’re still going sir?”

“I swear, if you had a mouth sarcasm would be dripping from it right now,” muttered Tony with a role of his eyes.

Jarvis let out a sigh, before muttering, “This _is_ your excuse isn’t it.”

“No it’s not! I’ll locate Mr. Snowman, go grab him, return him to birdy 2.0 and then be back here in time for dinner,” Tony shot back as he finally found his hat. “Speaking of which, you should—”

“Begin scanning video feeds in all of Washington D.C. Already started sir.”

“Good, and—”

“The plane is being prepared,” Jarvis said in a hurry. “Now, what would you like to say in the message to Ms. Potts?”

“I am not sending a message to Pepper and I’m not using this as an excuse! Now let’s go find Frosty!” cried out Tony. He set forth a meaningful stride, Jarvis letting out another large sigh.

As Tony made his way out of Avengers Tower and got into his car, Jarvis added, “Should I start with “I’m sorry” or do you think you’ve used that to often?”

“For the last time, I’m not sending anything to Pepper. Besides, she’s working and she hates it when I try and talk to her at work. Now, pull up all the files on Barnes,” Tony replied, pulling out his phone.

“May I suggest that you don’t do that while driving sir?”

“Suggest away.” It wasn’t long until Tony had arrived at his plane and was almost finished looking through the files of the Winter Soldier. As he stepped on his plane, Jarvis quickly added, “A very likely sighting of the man has occurred at the Smithsonian.”

"What the hell is he doing there?”

“Sitting it would seem. At the exhibit for Mr. Rogers.”

“You know, I still don’t understand why Steve gets a big exhibit and I don’t.”

“Maybe if you freeze yourself and then come back in seventy years they’ll make one for you,” muttered Jarvis.

“Takes to long. Besides, if I really wanted to I could build my own exhibit.”

“And I’m sure it would be excellent sir. Now, on the matter of Mr. Barnes, how exactly will you convince him to go back with you? He has never met you and will have no reason to believe anything you say.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I can be pretty charming.”

“ _Exactly_ my point sir,” Jarvis responded. “And it is known that Mr. Barnes does have a tendency for violence.”

“I doubt he’ll kill me when we’re in public. Besides, from what little Steve has told me, he’s been doing quite well. So don’t worry, though your kindness is touching.”

“And are you sure about your decision on not sending Ms. Potts anything?” asked Jarvis.

“Yes!” cried out Tony. “I swear; I will shut you down for a week if you do so.”


	6. Don't touch me

Bucky wasn’t really sure what he was doing. Should he go after Steve and Natasha? Should he go back to Sam? Should he disappear? Should he put a bullet in his brain? It was all extremely confusing and somehow, he had ended up back at the Smithsonian. This was his second time, the first being not long after he’d tried to kill Steve and the fall of Shield.

Now he sat on one of the long benches, glancing between the different exhibits. Every time his eyes ran over his own, he couldn’t help but wonder what that Bucky would’ve done. If instead of going through hell, that Bucky had simply appeared in this time, what would he do now?

It was impossible to say for sure, but something told Bucky that the past him would’ve gone after Steve. The terrible thing was that now he wasn’t so sure he should go. When he had stepped out of the house that morning, he really hadn’t been planning to go after Steve. And now he couldn’t tell if that made him a worse person of not.

One of the screens changed and the particular scene that was being played was one that Bucky did remember. He watched himself laugh, arm slung around Steve’s shoulder. He remembered that day, both had been happy, free. It felt like they could win the war.

Bucky turned his eyes back to his hands and let out a small huff that was supposed to be a laugh. He probably looked pretty strange, gloves and jacket, cap pulled down low despite the nearly eighty degree weather.

He couldn’t help but flinch as someone else sat on his right.

The man gave a smile that screamed rich and arrogant before saying, “Hey Jamie, care to tell me what you’re doing here?”

Bucky blinked several times, unsure of how to reply. “I’m sorry; do I know you?”

“Not really. What do you go by anyways? I guess it’s not Jamie. Just James? I think Steve mentioned something about your middle name.”

“I go by Bucky,” he admitted, trying to connect the person sitting beside him with one of the descriptions Steve had given him of his friends. “I still don’t know who you are.”

The man took off his sun glasses, his mouth opening to speak, but Bucky had already jerked away, his left hand crushing the arm of the bench.

For just a moment Bucky had thought, _This is some cruel trick. The universe is trying to drive me insane. It’s impossible. Howard Stark could never still be alive!_ But as his body remained wired, Bucky’s mind slowed down and he realized two things. The man in front of him was slightly older than Howard Stark, and two, it wasn’t Howard, simply a very similar looking person.

“Are you-you’re his son, aren’t you?” asked Bucky with a small gulp, easing his hand off of the arm of the bench, the metal now permanently twisted.

“Yep. I gotta say, despite all my fans your reaction has got to be the most interesting one I’ve ever seen. Many have claimed meeting me has given them a heart attack but I think this is the first time it’s ever actually happened,” remarked Tony with a laugh.

“Why are you here?” murmured Bucky, ignoring the joke and still feeling slightly uncomfortable looking the man in the face.

“Well your friend Sam Wilson called on behalf of Natasha. Seems that you’re not supposed to be here. Or did you run away? I haven’t really been told much.”

“I…I was thinking of going after Natasha and Steve.”

“Ah, crash their little mission huh? Not a terrible idea. Wanna go do it?”

“I don’t think Natasha would appreciate that,” admitted Bucky, unsure if Tony was joking or not.

“Yeah, probably not. Okay, guess it’s time to go,” Tony said, jumping up and popping the sunglasses back on. However, Bucky didn’t move. “You not coming kind of defeats the purpose of me coming here to get you.”

“I’m not sure I’m wanted.”

“Of course you are! Why else would they ask me to find you? Come on,” Tony tried, grabbing hold of Bucky’s arm and pulling.

However, Bucky jumped back, snatching his arm away from Tony just as a blinding pain ran through his head. He fell from the bench, bent over, his heart rapidly beating. He could feel the eyes moving towards him and then looking away. He felt Tony hovering above him, unsure on how to help. However, when Tony finally decided to try and help Bucky up, he launched himself away, stumbling as he stood up.

“Don’t touch me!”

It was meant to be soft but the words came out as a shout causing more people to turn and look at him. A security guard took a step forward, eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

Tony took a rapid step back, arms up in defense. “Hey, I won’t do anything you don’t want me to,” he said. “No need to make a scene.”

“No it’s not-just get away from me!” Bucky finally yelled out, turning and bolting from the room.

The guard tried to stop him but when that was futile, he stepped in front of Tony who tried to catch up with Bucky. “Excuse me—”

Tony pulled up his glasses. “Name: Tony Stark. On official Avengers business. Gotta go. Bye!” he said in a rush, moving past the man and chasing after Bucky.

By the time Tony was out of the building, Bucky was already a block away. Running to his car, Tony got in and quickly told Jarvis to track Bucky as he chased after the man. As he tried to think of what could have caused Bucky to bolt, the very man had just moved into an alleyway.

Bucky was bent over, the little remnants in his stomach emptying onto the concrete. Though his metal arm remained still, the other arm, along with his body, was shaking badly.

_The people in the car crash. They were-they had been—_

Bucky couldn’t even think the words.

“How many more comrades have I killed?” he whispered to himself as he tried to get control over his shaking body.

Wiping his mouth, he moved back onto the road and started running again. However, something inside him (perhaps guilt) caused him to slow his pace until it really wasn’t that shocking when the car stopped in front of him, preventing him from crossing the street.

“Whatever I did I’m sorry. And believe me I don’t say sorry often. Now get in. I don’t want to drive around this city looking for your sorry ass again.”

Bucky still hesitated, knowing full well that if he wanted to he could make a run for it.

“I don’t have all day.”

Making his way forward, Bucky opened the door and sat down in the seat. “Before we leave though, I think you should know something.”

“Uh huh. And?” Tony asked when Bucky didn’t continue immediately.

“I killed your father.”

“ _Okay_ ,” Tony said, drawing out the word long and slow. He started the car and began driving again.

“Did you not hear what I just said? I killed—”

“I’m thinking. Hush,” muttered Tony. For a moment, there was silence and then, “Jarvis, how likely is it that my parents were murdered?”

Bucky jumped, looking around wildly as he heard the voice. “There was no evidence left behind to suggest such a thing but under the circumstances and the information of Hydra that was leaked, I’d say there was an eighty-eight point sixty-one percent chance of them being assassinated.”

“What was that?!”

“My name is Jarvis Mr. Barnes. In the simplest terms, I am a computer.”

“Oh.” Bucky tried to calm himself, his head snapping back to Tony. “Why aren’t you throwing me out though? I killed your dad! I killed Howard…I killed Howard Stark.”

Tony glanced away from the road to look at Bucky for a split second, biting his bottom lip. Honestly, it seemed like this sudden revelation was more upsetting for Bucky than it was for Tony. “Were you to…close?” he finally asked, unsure of how to continue this.

“No-I mean-I just knew him! I still would’ve trusted him with my life though! He helped Steve actually _save_ my life and-and…” Bucky trailed off, breath still shaky, wondering how Tony could possibly sit next to him. Bucky felt like he was going to throw up again. Glassy eyes, blood, limp forms, and smoke filled Bucky’s mind as he asked in a strained voice, “Why are you so calm over all this?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say _that_.”

There it was, finally. A small tremor in the voice and a twitch of the eye. Howard’s son was afraid. It was so clear and it once again ripped open Bucky’s heart. “You should stop the car. I shouldn’t be here right—”

“No, I promised Natasha I’d take you back, and I am going to actually keep that promise believe it or not. Besides, at least you didn’t help _raise_ me, pretend to be my _best_ friend, and then plot to _kill_ me.”

The second sentence came out harsh and quick. An automatic question popped into Bucky’s mind so he asked, “Did somebody actually do that to you?”

“Not that it’s any of your business but yes! Someone did!” Tony replied bitterly. “So next time you start apologizing about killing my father, just remember I’ve met worse guys then you. Jarvis! What’s the address so I can hurry up and drop this guy off?”

Jarvis spouted out the information.

Tony let out a tired huff and “Thank you.”

Bucky was currently trying not to stare and doing a terrible job as well. Somehow hearing about this _friend_ of Tony’s only made him feel worse. He felt like he had thrown just another unnecessary problem onto the man’s life. He was positive that Tony knew he had been an assassin. He seemed carefree but if he really was Howard’s son then he definitely wasn’t stupid. It was always different when you found out it was your own kin that had been murdered.

“Really, I can walk just fine from here—”

“Nope, not gonna happen.”

“I really can—”

Tony cut off Bucky’s remark, swerving to the side of the road despite several loud honks of people’s horns. Putting the car in park, Tony fully turned towards Bucky. Leaning forward, he growled, “You looked him in the eye didn’t you? A file was given to you, a picture, you saw his face right?”

“Yes,” Bucky weakly got out.

"And-I’m sorry this is just hard for me to understand but did you really-did you not even recognize him!”

“No.” This time the word came out even softer but Tony still heard it.

“No. No, of course you didn’t,” Tony muttered, moving back out of Bucky’s personal space. “I’m sorry, I—see look what you’ve got me doing. I’ve said sorry twice in one day. Listen, we’ll forget the whole thing, I’ll drop you off, we don’t even have to speak to each again. Kay?”

“Okay.”

"Good, glad we’re on the same page,” replied Tony. He let out a heavy breath. “Time to get you home then.”

Both stayed silent when they noticed the other’s hands shaking.


	7. Could be dangerous

Before Tony could even properly stop the car, Bucky had jumped out and was running towards the house. For a second, Tony thought of just leaving but he realized that he really couldn’t do that. And he was to damn curious about what was going on. Tony slammed on his breaks and ran after him, yelling, “Bucky wait!”

Bucky didn’t listen though and tore through the police tape, pushed past the officers, and rushed into the house. Tony ran straight into an officer who yelled out, “Get behind the yellow line! You! Get that man out of the house!”

“That man lives here!” Tony yelled back. “And I’m Tony Stark so move out of the way and if there’s a problem with it, I’ll talk to your commander!”

The man hesitated but before he could do anything more a man not in uniform, most likely a detective, came up and said in a snarky voice, “I’m sorry Mr. Stark but we still can’t allow you in just because you’re richer than the president.”

“Jarvis,” Tony said, taking out his phone, “tell these gentlemen the missiles I’ve got trained on them right at this moment.”

“Would you like me to tell them the make and model or simply how many there are sir?”

“You can’t do that!” cried out the detective, shocked by the words. “I can have you arrested for obstructing this investigation!”

“I can have you blown to smithereens. Now move,” Tony said in a harsh voice.

Slowly, the man took a step back.

“And I want your men out of that house as well.”

The detective looked like he might argue the point but Tony simply shook his phone accompanied with a glare so the man took up his radio and said, “Everyone out. Now. Don’t worry about the man. Leave him be.” He glared at Tony. “I’ll have you in jail for this.”

"Yes, lovely talking to you too. Now excuse me,” Tony replied, walking past them and into the house.

The cops had already gotten out and there was only Bucky there, kneeling by a dark patch on the floor in the living room. Despite the fear that still curled around Tony’s stomach, an overwhelming amount of sorrow filled Tony as he looked at Bucky.

“We should probably get going,” Tony commented. He looked over at the two dead men in unknown, black uniforms. “I know this is probably hard to—”

“He’s alive,” Bucky interrupted. “They wouldn’t take a dead man. They freely left two of their own behind so Sam _has_ to be alive.”

"You don’t know that for sure,” Tony said cautiously.

Bucky’s shoulder’s quaked, his eyes rapidly blinking. Then he was suddenly up and moved to examine the two dead men.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Trying to find out anything I can about these people. I’ll kill them. I’ll find Sam and I’ll kill everyone who has laid a hand on him,” Bucky growled out.

Tony looked around, thought about all the choices he could make at the moment, and then finally let out a disgruntled sigh. “Jarvis, send that message to Pepper. Tell her I’m sorry but it really can’t be helped.”

“Of course sir. Also, the police have just called for backup and I do believe it won’t take them long until they figure out that you don’t have any missiles trained on them.”

Bucky looked up. “Why would you say such a thing?”

“To help give you time to grieve but seeing as you’re looking for revenge now, I’ve decided I’ll help you,” Tony replied. “We should leave now. I can easily access all the information of this case anyways once the police process everything.”

“You shouldn’t help me—”

“Listen! I don’t have time to argue this!” Tony yelled. “Now come on before we both get thrown in jail.”

Bucky hesitated but then grabbed an object off the man’s person before hurrying over to Tony.

“What’s that?”

“I don’t know but I figured you’d have a better time identifying it than the police,” Bucky replied, handing it over.

Tony looked over the device and then gave a small nod. “Right you are. Let’s go.”

They made their way out of the house but before they could get to Tony’s car the detective stepped in front of them again. “That’s evidence! You can’t keep it!”

“Tell that to the missiles I have pointed at you,” replied Tony as he walked around him. Getting into the car, he turned to Bucky and asked, “Have any idea where we should go?”

“No. Why?”

“Because those police officers probably just branded me a suspect in a double homicide and kidnapping and they’re about to find the fingerprints of someone who died back in World War II all over that house. We’re both kind of screwed at the moment if you hadn’t noticed.”

“We could find Steve. And Natasha.”

“And do you know where they are?”

“Well no but—”

“Good, because I do,” Tony interrupted him. “Now, start thinking of who would want to hurt Sam Wilson.”

“I don’t—”

“Saying I don’t know really doesn’t help. Now, Hydra is the obvious chose. Jarvis, was Wilson involved in anything illegal? Out of the ordinary?”

“Sam wouldn’t—”

“Hush! Jarvis?”

“No sir. The only thing in his entire history that would be branded abnormal is project Falcon and the equipment was destroyed during the fall of SHIELD. The fact that the deceased men wore no recognizable symbol either would suggest Hydra.”

“Hmm, if they had been keeping an eye on you, they might’ve attacked knowing Steve and Natasha wouldn’t be there. I doubt they were after birdy boy but since you weren’t there, I suppose they took him so that they at least went back with something,” Tony mused. “They were probably after you. Or Steve.”

“The mission,” Bucky said slowly.

“Yes?”

“What if it was a setup? Hydra has been quiet and then out of nowhere Fury hears of—”

“Hold on one blazing second! Are you telling me one-eye is alive!? Unbelievable! This day just keeps getting better and better,” growled Tony with a shake of his head. “Do continue though. There’s time enough to rant about Fury but say what you have to say.”

Bucky gulped but continued with, “I was just saying that Fury suddenly hears of information that Steve and Natasha say could be useful in bringing down Hydra. Why now? Maybe they were planning to capture me. Maybe they were….maybe they’re planning to take Steve.”

Tony squeezed his hands on the steering wheel, his teeth digging into his bottom lip. Silence filled the car as he passed under three streetlights before he said, “Listen, I still don’t know how to feel about you but Steve is my friend so if what you say is true…well, I’ll help you find him. And birdy boy for that matter.”

“Could be dangerous.”

“And me not having anymore suits probably makes this plan extremely stupid too,” replied Tony. “Nevertheless, I am fucking Iron Man and if Capsicle is in trouble then I will help.”

“Wiser words have never been spoken,” Jarvis muttered sarcastically.

“Thank you Mr. Helpful. How far are we from my plane Jarvis?” asked Tony.

“Less than ten minutes,” Jarvis said. “Might I add that Ms. Potts is trying to get in touch with you as well.”

“Ignore it.”

“This is actually her sixth time trying to call.”

“Why didn’t you tell me!?”

"You were talking with Mr. Barnes. Would you like me to put her on?”

Tony mentally prepared himself for the onslaught that was about to happen. “Yes.”

Immediately came the sound of Pepper’s voice as she said, “Tony! Why are the police calling my phone? What have you done this time?!”

Tony flinched as he replied back, “Actually, nothing but piss off a cop.”

“That isn’t nothing! You better have a good reason for this.”

“I do actually. I think Steve is in danger.”

“So you won’t be home tonight?”

“Probably not,” said Tony giving a sideways glance at Bucky.

“You realize that you don’t have any more suits, right Tony?”

“Of course I do! I’m sorry-god damn it that’s the third time today-but Steve is my friend and I think he needs help.”

“I’m not blaming you for that Tony. Just stay safe and remember that you don’t have a suit either.”

“I will. And don’t answer any questions the police try to get out of you!”

“I know. I love you.”

“Love you too,” murmured Tony as he ended the call. He let out a sigh.

They then arrived at the plane, Tony ordering all people off. “You can fly, right?” he asked Bucky.

“Yes, though I have not done so recently,” admitted Bucky.

“Well, Jarvis can do it for now but it’s just nice to know we have a backup pilot so you’ll have to do. I’d get Rhodey but I doubt he’d be able to get here in time. Come on, I recently added a new shielding technology so no one should find us for some time.”

“And how much fuel do you have?” asked Bucky. “How long will we be able to stay up?”

“Fuel? Don’t need any,” said Tony with a laugh. “We can stay up as long as we need to until we get to Steve.”

“Stuck in the air with you? Doesn’t exactly sound tempting,” murmured Bucky.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Believe me, I feel the same. Now come on, I have plenty to eat as well so you won’t get hungry.”

Bucky followed him onto the plane.


	8. Project Orphan

Tony had shown Bucky around the plane but for the last thirty minutes, Bucky had remained in the cabin. Bucky jumped ever so slightly when the door opened and remained tense as Tony walked over and sat in the co-pilot’s chair.

“Do you think you could’ve killed Steve?”

The question caught Bucky off guard and reminded him how cramped one plane could be. The idea of jumping out of it didn’t seem that bad. “Now? No I—”

“I’m not talking about now,” interrupted Tony. “I mean, if circumstances had been different, do you think you could have killed Steve during the fall of SHIELD?”

Bucky wanted to lie but he could see that Tony wanted an honest answer. He suspected the man would be able to tell if he lied anyways so he muttered, “Probably. Yes if…certain factors had been different. I definitely would’ve killed him.”

“Huh, good.”

“Good? I don’t follow.”

“You’re being honest with me. That’s what’s good. Do I trust you now? No, certainly not, but I think the shock and anger of finding out you killed my father is wearing down. You could still kill me here and now and no one would know, well except Jarvis but that’s beside the point. The point is that I can’t trust you, not personally, but I do believe you weren’t yourself when you killed my father or when you tried to kill Steve. That and whenever Steve mentions you it’s obvious how much he cares about you and trusts you.”

Bucky blinked for a second and then slowly replied, “Are you trying to make me feel better?”

“Hmm, I think I am actually. Granted, it doesn’t help that you had a kicked puppy expression when I first saw you and after your sudden realization of killing my dad you’ve looked like you’re about to throw up. Or kill yourself. I don’t have to worry about you doing that do I?”

“Throwing up or killing myself?”

“So Frosty can make a joke! Though you looked like you’d just killed a man when you said it. Try smiling next time. And jokes on more light-hearted subjects are usually better appreciated too.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Bucky sighed. “Now onto more important topics, how much longer until we get to where Steve is?”

“Ah, I thought we were getting somewhere with those feelings of yours,” muttered Tony as he propped his feet up. “Eight, nine hours. We’ll be in Russia once we finally touch down.”

“Can you get in touch with them?”

“No, I’ve already had Jarvis try. Either way, seeing the look of shock on their faces will be worth it. Is Fury with them?”

“I believe so. Along with Clint Barton.”

“Good, I’ll be able to yell at Fury a bit then. Still can’t believe he’s alive,” Tony said rubbing his eyes. “So, seeing as I don’t completely hate you right now, can I have a look at your arm?”

“Why?”

“Clearly if you knew my father you should be able to put the pieces together. I would’ve asked earlier but things didn’t exactly go as planned,” replied Tony. “So can I?”

Bucky gave him an unsure look, not exactly proud of the metallic attachment.

“Come on Frosty. Please?”

“Only if you stop calling me Frosty,” Bucky finally replied.

“Oh hell no,” Tony said with a shake of his head. “Now give me your arm!”

After a few minutes of arguing back and forth, Bucky finally surrendered to Tony and allowed him to look over his arm. Over an hour passed before Jarvis suddenly announced, “Colonel James Rhodes is on the line sir. It appears that the two dead in Mr. Wilson’s house has caused for quite the uproar.”

Tony sighed, leaning away from Bucky’s arm. Flicking his wrists he said, “Put him on then—”

“Tony, what the hell is going on with you?!”

Bucky got up, fairly sure he wasn’t wanted but Tony waved at him to sit. Cracking his neck, Tony said, “I would’ve gotten in touch with you earlier but—”

“Like hell you would have! You do realize that no SHIELD means no Avengers right? It’s considered a terrorist organization now and the only reason the Avengers haven’t been detained is because they can’t be found or they’re to famous. You can’t just say you’re on Avenger’s business and get away with it now! And pointing missiles at an officer? What were you even thinking?”

“First, I didn’t point missiles at that guy. The threat was completely empty. Second, what do you mean there’s no more Avengers?”

“I mean there are no more Avengers, at least not as far as the government is concerned, which also means that I’ve had a hell of a time trying to convince these people that you are not a suspect in that investigation! Do you realize how close you were to having your face plastered over the media with the lines of ‘Double Homicide and Kidnapping’?”

“Pretty close?”

“Yes! Pretty damn close! And the prints of a Sergeant James Barnes was found in that house as well. A soldier from _World War II_. Do you happen to know anything about that?”

Tony glanced at Bucky. “Never heard of him.”

“And Captain America! And Natasha Romanoff! That and the two dead aren’t on any databases worldwide. What is going on Tony?” asked Rhodey with a sigh, his voice finally lowering.

“I can’t tell you much, but I will say that we’re in route to get Sam Wilson right now.”

“This is a _police_ matter.”

“This is probably a _Hydra_ matter.”

Silence came from the other end. Then, “Are you sure?”

“Almost positive. I’m going to meet up with Cap right now,” Tony remarked. “We’ll have this all sorted out in no time. And not on US soil if that helps any.”

Rhodey sighed. “It does actually. If you report back whatever you find I’ll be able wipe all of this under the carpet.”

“How very government like,” muttered Tony. “I can’t guarantee that’ll I’ll be able to give you everything and I’m not even sure if we’ll find something but I’ll do what I can.”

“Same here. And don’t worry about Pepper, I’ve already made sure that she’s fully out of this.”

“Thanks man. Talk to you later,” Tony replied before Jarvis ended the call. He turned to Bucky and asked, “Do you think we’ll find birdy wherever Steve and Nat are infiltrating?”

“I highly doubt it. It would be to lucky if we did. Or to unlucky. Depending on…what we find there,” Bucky finally got out.

“Which do you hope for?” asked Tony.

“I don’t hope for anything. I’ve learned that faith and hope are only lies,” murmured Bucky. “The only thing I can do is face the reality of whatever situation we’re about to walk into as best I can.”

* * *

For the past two days, Natasha, Steve, and Clint had been scouting out the Hydra base. For now, the goal was to simply make sure the floor plans were the same as what was actually there. They wouldn’t go in, guns blazing, until later.

This was there last time in doing this and also the most dangerous since they were going in farther than they had ever been before.

Coulson and Furry were back at the base, adapting the floor plan where it needed it, triple checking their weapons, and adding the number of Hydra agents that Steve, Natasha, or Clint saw to get a rough estimate as to how many there were.

While Coulson was adding in a hallway that hadn’t been on the original plans, he suddenly heard, “Shit,” come in on the com.

“Barton,” Coulson said hurriedly, already recognizing who it was. When he didn’t reply Coulson repeated, “Barton!”

“What? Oh sorry,” muttered Clint in a somewhat far away voice.

It gave Coulson some comfort since it meant that Clint wasn’t in any immediate danger but it was also quite annoying as he wouldn’t report back what he was seeing. “Barton what is going on!?”

“Okay okay! Sorry! You know that room on hallway B7 that’s supposed to be a broom cupboard basically?”

Coulson quickly looked over the map and found the floor they had numbered B7. “Yes. The dimensions should be seven feet by three feet by four feet. Is it not?”

“Try more like a thousand feet by a thousand feet.”

“Barton, please be realistic here.”

“Uh…eight feet tall probably twelve feet wide and I can’t even tell how deep.” Clint turned silent as he moved forward, taking in his surroundings. “Oh shit. They’re dead.”

“Who?” asked Fury as he walked into the room.

“The people. They’re in these sort of glass cylinders and everyone has their own,” Clint said. There was a small gulp before he added, “It’s all kids. I don’t think a single one reached puberty.”

Coulson looked down, biting his bottom lip so hard it might as well bleed. It was hard saying the next words. “Estimated amount?”

“I’m not sure yet. A hundred?”

“At the most?”

“At the least Coulson,” Clint bitterly replied. Moving forward again, he added, “They each have a small screen at the bottom. It’s currently showing the identification number and the time that whatever the hell happened to them occurred I’m guessing. The project is codenamed Orphans.”

“Do we have any information on such a project?” asked Fury.

“I’ll go check.”

“Is there anything abnormal about them?” Fury questioned as Coulson went to a computer screen.

“No-well they get more deformed the father they go back. The farthest one I can see as gigantic forehead and another has an extra arm but the ones at the front look normal. My guess is that they were injected with something or their mother was injected with something. There are a few that were probably stillborn kids or at least died only minutes after their birth.”

“No information sir,” Coulson suddenly spoke up. “Clint, I want you out of there now but when we go in again, I’ll have Romanoff gather all the information she can.”

“Got it,” Clint replied and then began to move again.

Coulson switched lines and asked, “Captain, what’s your status?”

“I’m on—”

Coulson waited but nothing came. The com hadn’t gone down for he could just barely hear Steve’s breathing. However, any other sounds, like a gun going off or a well aimed punch, were absent. “Rogers?”

Another minute passed before Steve finally said, “A Hydra agent was coming down the hallway, sorry. She didn’t look like a scientist. Probably hear for firepower. I got a few pictures so hopefully we’ll be able to identify her. I’m on hallway B9 now.”

“Okay. Romanoff?” Coulson asked, switching lines again.

“Nothing. All clear.”

“Report if you find anything else. You have ten more minutes.”

“Understood.”

Coulson thought on Project Orphans. It was obvious they had been working on some version of the Super-Soldier serum but if their rejects were that many, were there any successes?


	9. A doctor of the mind

When the house had been ambushed, Sam had succeeded in stabbing one man in the throat and shooting another in the face. However, after some struggling, someone shot him through the kneecap and as he fell, he was hit upside the head.

The force wasn’t strong enough to knock him out but it did daze him and there was little he could do as the bag came down and his hands were pulled behind his back.

Sam was pulled onto his feet and then dragged out of his house. The pain caused him to drift in and out of consciousness but that did him little good as the black bag remained over his eyes. He felt dirt and grass beneath his feet but he wasn’t able to keep his eyes open long enough to feel the sidewalk and concrete. The next thing he knew he was in a car and he was screaming as someone very crudely took the bullet out of his kneecap.

The pain kept him awake but afterwards, he drifted out of consciousness again only to later find himself in some type of aircraft, probably a simple plane. His leg was numb below the knee and without sight, a fear ripped through Sam as he believed that the lower part of his leg was gone. How would he run away now?

He passed out again, this time waking up without a bag over his head. The lights were low and Sam heard little movement. He could also feel his leg now. Looking down, it was still completely intact with a bandage wrapped around the knee. He was strapped down, lying on a table in what looked very much like a lab.

There really wasn’t anything else he had to lose so Sam called out, “Anyone there?”

Even if he was currently alone, he was positive that they would have a camera on him. He waited, nothing, and then finally a door out of his line of sight opened. The man stepped forward, tall and with a cold look in his eyes. He wore a monocle that in Sam’s opinion made him look dorky but he doubted the man would appreciate such a statement. He also wore a lab coat and gloves. His red hair was also thick and well trimmed.

The man opened his mouth to speak but before he could say anything Sam replied, “Let me guess, Hydra?”

The man’s mouth closed as a small smirk forming before he opened it again. “Who else Mr. Wilson?”

“At this point? I really don’t know,” muttered Sam. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you bought off any other villains that were still going solo and killed the ones who wouldn’t join.”

“Most, yes, Dr. Von Doom is probably the trickiest one. He is not one for sharing power.”

“Oh, and Hydra is all about sharing power,” Sam said sarcastically. “Do you have little groups where you share your latest evil deeds?”

The man’s smile dropped. “I would not be so quick to use my tongue in your situation Mr. Wilson.”

“I’ve been in worse situations than this. And I’ve found that having a tongue like mine can be quite useful.”

“I’m afraid it will not do much good in this situation.” The man turned around and took up a small needle as he asked, “My name is Dr. Faustus. Perhaps you have heard of me?”

“Not a thing.”

The man gave another horrid smile. “Good, then Hydra has been doing their job properly.” He stuck the needle inside one of Sam’s veins but did not push whatever clear substance was in the needle down. “Do you know what this is?”

“I’m not a scientist.”

“And I am not a soldier but I believe even you can understand what happens to the human condition when air is pushed into the blood system.”

Sam’s breath caught and all movement froze as he eyes became stuck on the needle.

“Ah, so you do know that much. Now, I could inject this in you right now and be done with you, or I could take the needle out and let you live. Which do you think I’ll do?” asked Dr. Faustus.

“You won’t do it,” Sam said slowly. “You won’t do it because you took me for a reason.”

“Actually we didn’t.”

“What?”

“You were taken because the agents sent to your home figured they might as well bring something back,” Dr. Faustus responded. “You see, I am only here for the Winter Soldier when he is finally returned to us. I am not a scientist of the body but more so of the mind. And all of the scientists of the body have plenty of test subjects. You are nothing special.”

Sam watched as Dr. Faustus placed his finger on top of the needle.

“So you see, I can do this…but I won’t,” he finished and finally removed the needle, Sam allowing a large breath of air to escape. “Now, as I said, the Winter Soldier, _and_ Captain America, are the prime targets here. However, not even Hydra isn’t above petty revenge.”

“What do you plan to do with me?”

“As for now, only your vitals will be taken. We’ll need to know everything about your body from the causes of allergic reactions to your blood pressure to your pain tolerance. After that, I will begin performing similar tests to you as I did to the Winter Soldier. After that, the research division will be allowed free-range over you.”

“You fucked up Buck’s head! You erased his memories!”

“I was not the first to do it but yes, I did have a hand in it,” the man replied. “It will be much more interesting to finally work on a fresh subject however. And one of a similar background as the Winter Soldier will certainly make the final results interesting.”

“You won’t do a damn thing to my head! And I’ll kill you before you get your hands on Bucky again!”

“Once again, I’d watch that tongue of yours if I were you,” murmured Dr. Faustus. “Even a doctor of the mind can cut out a tongue.”

* * *

“I think I’m going to have nightmares now,” muttered Clint with a shudder.

Natasha rolled her eyes. “Please don’t be so over dramatic Barton.”

“You didn’t see them Tasha! There was this one, I couldn’t tell if it was a boy or girl, but it basically looked like a miniature Hunchback of Notre Dame. They had to have been seven at least! They probably had to live through that transformation!”

“I understand how terrible it was; you did say they were all children,” Natasha responded. “All we can do now is make sure that program is stopped if it hasn’t been already. Now, as far as entering, are we knocking on the front door or going in through the back?”

“Rogers and I will take front,” responded Fury, “take out any guards there. You and Barton will go around back. Rogers and I will hold the first floor. You both keep heading down.”

“And I’ll monitor the security cameras and the movement of the people,” added Coulson. “The expected time is—”

He stopped short as warnings suddenly came on inside the base.

“What the hell?” growled Fury as he moved to a computer console.

“What’s wrong?” asked Steve.

“Somebody just hacked into our system and is opening up the doors to the hangar where our plane is. It looks like—” Fury stopped himself and then just shook his head in anger. “That god damn Stark.”

“Wait, Tony’s here? What’s he doing?” asked Steve, moving towards the computer. He added, “There’s another person with him too…”

They all looked up when Tony walked in and all eyes widened when they saw Bucky was present. However, before anyone could make a point of that, Tony shouted out, “God damn it Fury! You’re alive! _Alive_! I mean, Bucky told me but I still didn’t think you’d—”

That was when Tony finally caught sight of Coulson. For a moment, he took a huge breath, and then he lunged.

It was only luck that Bucky was as close as was and succeeded in grabbing Tony. However, the man continued to struggle and was leaning so far forward that if Bucky had let go, Tony would’ve fallen flat on his face.

“You son of a bitch! He was alive and you didn’t have the decency to tell me?! I don’t blame Phil. He was just following orders, doing what he was told, but you! You should have told us!”

“It was necessary that—”

“Necessary my ass! You—”

“Stark.” It was the first time that Coulson had spoken up. Tony sagged a bit, finally turning to look at Coulson a look of wonder still in his eyes. “Stark, I’m alive now. That’s the important thing. I’m sorry you had to find out this way but we can’t change the past now.”

Tony shook his head. “Alright alright. I suppose-ARGH!”                He cried out as he was unceremoniously dropped, Bucky taking a step back. “Why did you do that?”

“You weren’t going to hurt anyone. There was no need in holding you back anymore,” Bucky said without any amusement in his eyes.

Popping up off the ground, Tony brushed himself off, shot a glare at Bucky, and then turned back to everyone in front of him. “I suppose you’re wondering why we’re here,” he finally muttered. “Wilson’s been kidnapped.”

The amusement that had filed their faces quickly disappeared.

“He’s been what?” asked Steve.

“Kidnapped, most likely by Hydra,” Tony replied.

Bucky added, “We figured this was the best course of action.”

Steve nodded, trying to think everything through. It was obvious he wanted to immediately go after Sam but it was also clear that he had no idea where that would be. “We finish the mission. This is our last day here. Then we look for any trail that could lead to Sam.”

“Then I can help.”

Everyone turned to look at Bucky and Steve really didn’t like the look in his eyes, the look that came with the idea of killing Hydra agents. Before he could disagree with the idea though, Fury was already saying, “Absolutely not.”

“Why? All I would do is help protect you.”

“He could stay with Rogers,” put in Natasha. “You come with me and Clint, Fury. Stark can stay here-don’t even argue with me Stark!”

Tony closed his mouth and held up his hands in surrender. “I can have some quality time with Coulson then,” replied Tony with a huff.

“I’m sorry but I don’t trust this man to have my back,” responded Fury.

“He won’t have your back,” Steve put in, mulling Natasha’s idea over in his head. “He’ll have mine and thankfully I do trust him with that. Understood?”

Fury crossed his arms and glared but after a moment of not breaking eye contact, Fury responded, “Get him caught up on all the information then. If this goes South it’s on your head Rogers.”

Steve gave a small nod. “Understood.”

Glancing back towards Bucky, Steve hoped he was doing the right thing. This would be the first time in a long time they would be fighting side by side again. He truly hoped he’d made the right call.


	10. Sputnik

“And this woman,” Bucky murmured, pointing to a picture. “Who is she?”

“I don’t know,” replied Steve. “I caught sight of her the last time I went down but we didn’t find anything. Why, do you recognize her?”

“No, just curious,” he responded. However, a look of worry passed through his face and then confusion, as if he didn’t understand why he should feel such a thing.

“Well, then I guess that concludes everything,” Steve said, looking towards Fury.

Fury sighed and then muttered, “Suit up then. Barnes, pick out whatever toys you want.”

As Bucky went to look through his choice of weapons and the others got ready, Fury went towards Tony and said, “I’d get comfortable if I were you. It’s going to take several hours at least and I do not want you messing up this base. Understood?”

“Got it mom.”

Fury just glared and walked away. Several minutes later they left, leaving Coulson and Tony alone.

Sitting in a swivel chair, Tony swung around until he was facing Coulson. “So, last time I checked in you were dead. Clearly you got better.”

“Yes, I suppose you could say that,” responded Coulson with a smile.

Tony waited but as Coulson simply returned to his work. “Oh come on? That’s all I get? Seriously, tell me what you’ve been up too. Fury hasn’t been working you to hard right? What about the team of yours? Must be pretty special. What—”

“I apologize if I’m not chatty but if you haven’t noticed, I’m trying to make sure your team mates don’t get killed,” Coulson responded.

“Fine! Kill joy.”

It was surprising that the next minute was in silence but after that Tony was talking again. Even though Coulson wasn’t really paying attention, Tony kept his mouth running since there wasn’t much else to do. He was about to start discussing another fight he’d had with a congressman when Coulson asked, “What’s that?”

“Huh? Oh this,” Tony said, stopping his monologue. He pulled out the device that Bucky had given him from his pocket. He’d forgotten about it after everything that had happened. “Yeah, not really sure what it is. We found it on the Hydra agents.”

Coulson held out his hands and Tony willingly gave it over. Looking over it, a small frown appeared on his face and Coulson found a small corner of the device and pressed it. The item opened up and a hologram suddenly appeared.

Tony’s blood turned cold.

_Capture the Winter Soldier and Captain America no matter the costs. You will split into teams and come in through all sides on the house. On arrival you should…_

The recorded message droned on and when it had ended, the hologram disappeared and then the device closed up again. Tony turned to Coulson and the look of shock and fear was mimicked in each other’s eyes.

“He’s dead though,” Tony said slowly. “Red Skull is dead so what the _hell_ is he doing in that damn message!”

“Yelling is not going to do anything so you might as well keep your voice down,” responded Coulson despite the fact that this had shaken him just as much.

“We need to tell Steve.”

“Not now! They’re in the middle of a mission. Telling them could ruin it, especially if Barnes hears.”

“So we just sit on this, watch them beat up some Hydra agents, and wait? Is that it?”

Coulson sighed. “I know it’s not what you want to hear but it’s our best choice of action.” He turned back to the screen. “Besides, they’ve just now entered.”

Leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up, he watched as Coulson began messing up the video cameras in the Hydra base.

* * *

The fact that most of the men and women were simple scientists made it much easier to take control of floor one. However, there were still guards which led to several interesting fights. After every hostile was either down or tied up, Steve put his shield back in its place.

Floor one was above ground but the other two were below ground, meaning if any one new came for backup they’d have to go through Steve and Bucky first.

“I’m going to do another sweep of this floor,” said Steve. “Stay here and make sure no one gets to that elevator.”

Bucky gave a small nod, watching Steve leave before he began scanning the room again. At first everything was silent but then even his heightened senses didn’t detect the person behind him before it was nearly too late.

Just barely he moved out of the way so that instead of a knock-out blow he got clipped on the ear. Regaining his feet and spinning around, Bucky came face to face with his attacker.

It was the woman that Steve had photographed but which they hadn’t found anything about. She had bright red hair in a bob cut along with pail freckled skin. Her clothes were tight and revealing with hulking great combat boots. Two guns were at her side, several knives, and a metal baseball bat in her hand. Bucky was able to see the clearly outlined muscle on her form, reminding him of Natasha if it weren’t for the maniacal grin.

“Hey Bucky boy,” she said with a smirk. “Long time no see!”

She swung the bat again but this time Bucky was able to anticipate it and moved out of the way. The next time she swung it he got it with his metal hand and jerked the thing out of her hands. He drew his gun and fired but she dodged it, doing a backwards flip like a gymnast.

“What? Don’t you remember me?” she asked as she grabbed a knife and threw it.

Bucky used his metal arm to block the attack and fired again.

“No words for your little pal Sin?”

“What kind of name is Sin?”

“So he does talk!” she cried with a laugh, moving in close and pulling out another knife.

Sin stabbed and Bucky dodged, their movements lightning fast. However, Bucky quickly noticed that, though strong, she was not as experienced as Bucky had suspected. And she talked to damn much.

“Still nothing else? I remember hearing your screams. They resonated across the walls. Do you—ack!”

She screamed as Bucky tripped her up. He brought his metal hand down but she rolled out from under it just as Coulson finally took notice of their fight.

Due to the more pressing matter of Nat, Clint, and Fury taking out all of floor two and three before they could gather any Intel, Coulson had focused all resources on them. Now he quickly contacted Steve saying, “Barnes needs help now by the elevator. It’s the woman that you photographed. The red haired one.”

“On my way,” Steve said, halting and then turning back the way he’d come.

By the time he got there, Bucky had just grabbed Sin in a headlock when she shouted out, “Sputnik!”

Bucky dropped to the grown like a doll whose strings had been cut.

“Bucky!” Steve yelled as he threw his shield forward, catching the woman in the mid section.

Despite being winded, she managed to get up and pull out one of her guns, shooting at Steve who expertly dodged them. He grabbed Bucky, pulling him around the corner. As he took out his own gun, he checked Bucky’s pulse but it was normal and the man was still breathing.

However, his eyes were opened and glazed over like he couldn’t see anything and no amount of shouting would change that. Looking to make sure no one else was coming, Steve left Bucky to move around the corner but the woman was already gone.

“She left down the hallway on your right,” Coulson said into the coms.

Steve quickly moved forward. “Warn me if Bucky gets up or someone else finds him.”

“Got it Cap.”

Steve then sent a message across all communication saying, “Bucky is down. Currently in pursuit of attacker.”

He then ignored anymore words in his ear as he caught up with the woman, propelling himself forward to knock her down. They struggled only momentarily before Cap gave her one hard punch to the face. “What did you do to Bucky?”

Groaning, she growled out, “Nothing that won’t wear off.”

“Tell me what you did?!”

“Well I did this one guy in a bar. Pretty handsome with—”

She was cut off as she was punched again.

“If you won’t tell me what you did, then who sent you? I want a name. Something specific!”

“Daddy dearest did.”

“And his name?”

“Really? You don’t know? Daddy will be—”

But Steve punched her again, this time knocking her out. He tied her up and said into the coms, “I knocked her out but I don’t know for how long. How’s Bucky?”

“Still hasn’t moved,” Coulson responded just as Fury cut in, “We’ve got a problem.”

“More hostiles?” asked Steve.

“No,” Fury replied. “A fourth floor.”


	11. I'll be fine

All of the sudden, the world went black for Bucky. He was still conscious, still could think, but all of his senses were gone. The moment Sin had shouted that word, sputnik, he’d lost sight and touch, smell and hearing. Taste was probably gone as well.

For just a second, Bucky thought he’d been trapped in his mind and immediately he began to panic. _No_ , he thought. _Not this! Anything but this!_

He screamed but that did nothing. Whether he whispered or shouted it was all the same. Because thoughts don’t carry volume. Because he _was_ trapped.

Where was Steve? That was the most important thing at the moment. He’d seen him come into the room but after that he didn’t know. Was he safe? What had happened to Sin? Where did she come from and what was her aim with Hydra?

Bucky waited for something to come back, to be able to feel the metal floor beneath him or hear his own breathing. He couldn’t even feel his own heart beating.

And then it all came back on.

The sudden jolt of having his body in control caused his breathing to catch and his heart to stutter, a sudden rapid pace over taking it. It took him a moment to notice a voice in his ear.

“Barnes? Are you alright?” It was that one guy, Coulson.

“I…I think so. How long was I out?”

“Thirty minutes. Exactly. Is there—”

“Where’s Sin? Cap?”

“I just sent to Cap that you’re alright. He’s down on the fourth floor. Is Sin that woman?”

“Yes. Where is she?”

“Tied up.”

“Good,” Bucky replied and then stopped, fully thinking about what Coulson had said. “This structure only has three floors.”

“That’s what we thought too but Natasha found a staircase that leads farther down. There are either no cameras down there or they are hooked up to a different location. I’m completely blind except for our lines of communication.”

“Any hostiles?”

“None that they’ve reported of. No scientists either. Some of the equipment was smashed but not all of it. Whoever was down there left in a hurry. They were probably warned while the team cleaned up floors one through three.”

“Where is Sin tied up?”

Silence.

“Where is Sin tied up, sir?”

“A8, two hallways over,” Coulson said, reluctance clear in his voice. “Remember, we need her alive Barnes.”

Bucky didn’t respond to that. He hated how the man had automatically assumed that he might kill the woman but to be truthful, he had been contemplating just that. He moved down the hallways until he reached her. Steve had done a fine job, the woman just barely having the ability to wiggle back and forth.

“Ah, so you’re finally awake,” she muttered. Bucky noticed the dried blood in her nose and the developing bruise on her face. She gave him an analyzing look and then suddenly shouted, “Sputnik!”

Bucky flinched but this time it did nothing.

Sin sighed. “I guess it does work only once. Too bad. Watching you fall flat on your face would’ve been funny right now.”

“What was that? What did it do to me?” Bucky asked softly.

“You’re no fun. Just going straight to the point. It was basically a safety switch if you went rogue. Only works once though and then it has to be reprogrammed into your head again.”

“So it won’t work ever again.”

She gave a malicious smile. “Not if we don’t get our hands on you again.”

Bucky clenched his fists, resisting the urge to add another bruise to her face. “Who sent you?”

“Funny, the one in the spangly uniform asked me the same thing. I told him but he didn’t seem to appreciate the answer. Knocked me straight out.”

“And what was your answer?”

“My father, daddy, pop, whatever you call a male figure.”

“Who is your father?”

“Someone you know all too well. I’m not allowed to say any more.”

Several different torture techniques suddenly came to mind but Bucky stopped himself. For one thing, this wasn’t the time. For another, he didn’t want to see the disappointed looks on Steve’s, Natasha’s or Sam’s face.

Sam…god where was he?

“Natasha, found anything as of yet?” Bucky asked into the com.

“Nothing physical. I’m downloading one of their many hard drives now though. There isn’t much actual paper work here.” There was a pause. “You alright?”

“I’m fine,” Bucky immediately replied back. He then went silent as he wondered what secrets could be down there. Would it bring back any memories? Had he ever been there? Sin seemed to know him but he couldn’t tell if it was personal or she’d simply looked over a file. Finally he asked, “May I see?”

“Bucky we need—” Natasha tried but Steve was already cutting her off.

“I’m already on my way up. If I need help I’ll just give a shout.”

“Alright, I’ll wait until you get here,” said Bucky.

“Ah, so I get Mr. America again? I wonder if he’ll be any more talkative now that he knows you’re okay,” muttered Sin.

“Perhaps. Or maybe he’ll hit you again for me,” Bucky replied even though he knew that probably wasn’t true.

It wasn’t long until he saw Steve walking towards him so he met him halfway, away from Sin.

“Floor four seems to be bigger than the others so be careful. Most of the lights don’t work either,” Steve added. He looked over at Sin and then back at Bucky, his voice dropping. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re okay,” responded Steve. He put his hand on Bucky’s shoulder, looked like he wanted to do more, and then settled for a small squeeze. “Just don’t do anything reckless.”

“Same goes to you,” Bucky said, pulling up a small smile even though he didn’t feel like it. He saw that it eased Steve however.

Steve watched Bucky go and then went over to Sin. All other hostages were being watched by Coulson. However, Sin was different from any of the Hydra agents and could have more information, even if she wasn’t willing to share at the moment. He’d try to figure out some way to get it out of her.

Bucky made his way back to the elevator and moved down to the third floor. The moment he stepped out he was shocked to see Fury standing in front of him.

“Where’s Natasha?”

“Being computer savvy. I came to show you the way to the next floor.”

“Still don’t trust me?”

“Would you?”

Fury certainly had point, he had tried to kill the man after all, but the words stung nonetheless. He remained silent however and simply nodded for the man to show him the way. They walked to what looked like an office where a bookcase was moved aside, exposing a staircase.

Taking out a flashlight, Fury grabbed another one and handed it to Bucky. “There aren’t many lights down there. You’ll need this.”

Bucky took it but couldn’t help but frown, slightly confused on the matter. “I thought the area was a laboratory? Why would they work in the dark?”

“It’s a lab alright. Maybe Hydra’s just afraid of a little sun,” muttered Fury as he made his way forward.

At the bottom of the staircase, Fury pointed to the left down a hallway. “Romanoff is in the first room on your right. Seems to be where they held most of their information. Barton and I have been down this way but that area hasn’t been scoped out all the way.”

“Then I’ll start scoping,” Bucky mumbled, turning away and making his way through the corridors.

Nothing he saw brought any sparks of memory to rise back up which made him disappointed and thankful at the same time. He still couldn’t quite figure out why everything was in darkness though.

He came across one room that was large and spacious. There were tools of torture, some of which Bucky recognized, that hung along the walls and when Bucky finally shined his flashlight to the center of the room, he had to resist the urge to hurl.

It was no more than two hours fresh, the blood on the floor. Bucky could see where it had stained the concrete along with blood from other people probably weeks, months, maybe even years ago. It was hard to tell if the tortured souls had been killed in the room as well. It was certainly possible.

He left the room swiftly as he wondered if he had ever tortured anyone. An assassin, that’s what he had been but there were always exceptions to a rule. The thought twisted his stomach but he pulled himself together and managed to continue on.

About thirty minutes later he hadn’t found anything of much interest, only a few more labs where they probably tested on subjects that he reported to Natasha. Most of those rooms actually had lights in them but they were very dim.

Finally, Bucky came to one last room that was heavily bolted. With his metal arm, he broke all of the locks and finally made his way into the room. What he saw had to make him do a double take.


	12. A world of pain

Getting blood drawn, checking height and shoulder width. Such things were simple and done quicker and more efficiently than his own damn doctor. It was after such tests were done that Sam began to worry.

He was strapped back down to the table, waiting as the whispers floated around his head. His knee was a dull throb now. The Hydra scientists had cleaned it and put a new bandage on it some time ago. Now all he could do was wait and try to stop his imagination from getting the better of him.

Finally, after what felt like hours, his straps were undone while Dr. Faustus watched over him.

“It seems I’ll have to talk to you later. What’s coming is not part of my job description.”

The man left and then three different people undid his restraints only to put him into different ones and dragged him away. Outside of the room, the hallway was pitch black except for the occasional glow of light from rooms that branched off.

“Why is it so dark?” He didn’t expect an answer and was surprised when he got one.

“It calms the subjects and makes them easier to transport,” said one of the men. “It’s easier for them to create a different reality when they can’t see their own too.”

Sam could see his reality perfectly fine but the man’s words made him question just how long it would be before that changed. They took him into a room, a light shining in the center. Another man came in dressed up in this weird costume of black and white with a mask covering his face. Sam figured the guy was one of those “super villains” so to speak; mostly muscle, a lot of crazy, and commonly not much brain no matter what Ph.D. they had. Sam hadn’t really ever encountered one though; he wouldn’t consider Bucky a super villain. Bucky had been a pawn. Alexander Pierce had been a villain so to speak but not a super villain.

“Got some fancy alias?” asked Sam. The man was well muscled and wide shouldered.

“You can call me Crossbones if you like,” the man said with a grin. His voice seemed somewhat familiar but Sam mostly ignored that, more interested in what the man was saying now. “And you’re about to enter a world of pain.”

If Sam hadn’t been fearing for his life he would’ve rolled his eyes. Could this guy get anymore clique? Still, he did respond with, “So are you testing how well I withstand pain? Is that it?”

“Yep, so don’t worry, I won’t be killing you today.” Crossbones turned to the other men. “Unchain him.”

They did so without hesitation and once done, all took a step back. Sam warily looked between them, standing mostly on his completely healthy leg. He turned back to Crossbones. “What now?”

“Come at me.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I’m completely serious. Now come on kid, give it your best shot.”

That use of the word kid sparked something but, hesitating for only half a second, Sam lunged. He feigned the punch with his right hand and instead when in for a left uppercut. Just as he predicted, Crossbones was to slow and didn’t expect the fake move meaning that Sam was able to get him squarely in the gut.

The hit barely even fazed him as he came back, knocking Sam upside the head. His ears ringing, Sam went down, frantically blinking as he tried to clear his vision.

“That was a good hit. A year ago and that definitely would’ve had me wheezing for air. Doesn’t do much now though does it?” Crossbones said as he grabbed the collar of Sam’s shirt and picked him up single-handedly. He set him back on his feet. “Walk ten paces.”

“What?” The word came out short and breathy.

“Walk ten paces. Now.”

Sam did as he was asked with as much dignity as he could muster. Upon finishing the walk, he spun around, the ringing finally gone.

“Good. You’re tough just like I remember. That’ll make this much more interesting.” Once again, Sam resisted the urge to ask who the hell the guy was. Crossbones held out his hand and someone from the shadows on the edge of the room came forward with a crowbar. “Ever gotten hit by one of these?”

“Can’t say I have,” muttered Sam.

“Let’s see if you can keep that record up then.”

Sam was able to doge several of the swipes, Crossbones swings much to wide. However, he seemed to figure this out and finally compressed the distance, landing a hit on Sam’s left arm. He’d just barely blocked it and if he hadn’t, his ribs would’ve definitely been crushed. Instead, his left arm was now broken.

He stumbled back, his wounded knee wanting to give out on him but he didn’t let it. “Doesn’t seem fair. You get all the weapons and then I only get my hands.”

“This isn’t about what’s fair. This about testing your ability to withstand pain. Now come on!”

Sam didn’t move, cradling his arm close to his side. He tried to back up when Crossbones came at him again but one of the men that had brought him suddenly shoved him forward. As he fell, Crossbones dropped the crowbar and instead grabbed Sam’s shoulders as he kneed him in the stomach.

When Crossbones let go, Sam fell to the ground, arms shaking and his lungs aching. He was pretty sure the man had just broken a rib _and_ punctured his lung. He struggled to stand.

“Ten paces. Come on. Let’s see how well you can walk.”

Slowly Sam calmed his racing heart and made his way forward, each breath now agonizing.

“Good. You’re holding out well.”

Sam was punched again, this time in the face. He actually managed to keep himself upright this time and even tried to swing his own punch with his good arm but once again, Crossbones was unfazed. When he punched him again, Sam was pretty sure his cheekbone had just been fractured and he went down hard. Nevertheless, he still managed to make himself stand.

Again and again they went at it, Crossbones alternating between weapons and his own fists or feet to do damage. It felt like an hour had passed before Sam just couldn’t move anymore.

“Come on! Ten paces!”

Sam’s arms trembled but ultimately collapsed on him. He heard Crossbones laugh from above as he nudged Sam with his foot.

“I’m impressed. No one’s ever lasted that long.”

Sam could only groan, nearly choking on his own blood.

“Do you really have nothing else to say?”

Sam remained silent.

“Oh fine!” Crossbones moved forward and pulled up his mask, finally revealing the man underneath. His face was scared but Sam recognized the man immediately as Brock Rumlow.

“I thought you’d died,” coughed Sam, images of the Helicarrier crashing into SHIELD headquarters suddenly coming back.

“I nearly did but Hydra fixed me up good and proper,” he said with a grin, pulling out a cigarette and placing it in between his teeth. As he lit it, he added, “Go and get him patched up and then put him in his cage. Faustus can work on him tomorrow if he wants.”

Sam felt himself being lifted. Before he could be taken away though, he growled out, “I should’ve killed you when I had a chance.”

“Kid, you were going down. You should thank your lucky stars for that damn Helicarrier,” replied Rumlow. He gave a small smirk. “It was the only damn thing that saved your life. Not that it really matters now.”

Sam was then dragged back to the same lab where he was before, Crossbones now leaving his sight. They put on casts and stitched up the cuts that needed it, wrapped gauze around other areas, but they didn’t give any pain medication and the punctured lung was still making it hard to breath. Rumlow had broken two more ribs as well.

After they did that, Sam was taken to another room, away from the laboratory. The room was pitch black and Sam could hear scuffling sounds like rats in the wall. Finally one of the men dragging him turned on the lights and if Sam had eaten anything he would’ve thrown up.

Cages originally designed for large dogs lined the walls of the room. Over half of them were full, an adult male or female in them. As they moved past the cages until they reached an empty one, some of the people murmured unintelligible words, others screamed. But many howled and snapped like animals.

Forced into one of the cages, Sam barely had enough room to sit up and certainly not enough room to spread out his legs. The cage was locked and then the men left and the lights went out.

Most of the screaming stopped at that point along with the loud barks but Sam could still detect movement all around him even though he couldn’t see.

At first, sleep had almost taken him but now all of his senses were on high alert. The cages were to close for his liking and he swore he felt someone scratch at his arm at one point. He tried staying in the center, away from the bars even though that didn’t make much of a difference.

He wondered how many of the people had volunteered. How many of the people had been taken?

Sam hadn’t seen many malformations in any of the people upon coming in but he couldn’t have been sure. Maybe all that had been done to them had been mental but Sam highly doubted that. At the very least many of these people had been tortured and there was probably zero help for many of them now. Perhaps even Dr. Faustus had done a number on some of them too.

He waited for hours, simply focusing on his breathing and his breathing alone. He couldn’t let the sounds around him stir up his imagination. He couldn’t fall asleep or let the pain distract him. Just breath. Breathing was good.

At one point, he heard people running outside the door as if something was happening outside but no one came into the room and soon all was silenced again. And then Sam was waiting once more, nothing to do but try and stay conscious.

When the door finally did open, he couldn’t believe who was standing on the other side.

"Bucky..."


	13. The clock's ticking

Bucky turned the lights on.

“Sam?”

The name came out cautiously, softly, as if he wasn’t sure what the response was. However, when the man simple replied back with, “Yep, still me,” Bucky allowed himself a moment to relax. Looking at the people around him, how they acted and thrashed at the cages, he’d been afraid that maybe Sam had already turned out like that.

Instead, he was okay. Beat to a pulp but okay.

Bucky came over and snapped the lock off the cage with ease. He reached in and helped Sam get out but when it came to standing, his legs did not want to work. Bucky braced himself but Sam quickly shook his head.

“I am not going to have you bridal carry me out of here Buck.”

“Would you rather me roll you?”

“Funny,” Sam muttered but the comment actually made him give a small smile though it hurt to do so.

“Seriously, I’m not letting your pride get in the way of this.” Before Sam could argue he was swept up, just a little to quickly that caused Sam to let out a gasp. “Sorry.”

“S’not your fault,” muttered Sam.

“They taped you up pretty well.”

“They weren’t trying to kill me. Just see how much I could take before I collapsed.”

“They didn’t…do anything else, did they?” Bucky asked, fear filling his voice.

“No, just drew some blood and punched me a few times.”

“A bit more than a few I’d say.”

“Yeah.”

Sam turned silent as Bucky continued to walk, slowly and deliberately, not wanting to move Sam to much. He finally said, “Rumlow’s alive.”

Automatically Bucky tensed up.

“Calling himself Crossbones.”

“Did he do this to you?”

“Yeah.”

Sam could feel him pull him closer, tightening his grip just enough to notice but not enough to hurt. “You’re thinking about killing him aren’t you.”

“Yes.”

Sam opened his mouth to tell him not to but stopped himself. He knew Bucky would be able to tell he didn’t mean it.

A walk that should’ve taken a minute or two took over five, Bucky being as careful as possible. As they’d moved, Sam had allowed himself to ease up but he kept fighting consciousness for the moment. Still, he allowed himself to get comfortable in Bucky’s arms.

Bucky hadn’t wanted to put Sam down the moment he’d picked him up and he would’ve had to do so to contact anyone. Instead, he went to where he last saw Natasha. She was still there.

“I was just about to contact you James,” she said, glancing upwards and then stopping. Natasha responded immediately saying into the com, “Barton, I need you to double back and finish scoping out the area on my side. Barnes is heading back to the base.”

Bucky tried to argue with, “I can—”

Natasha silenced Bucky with a single look. “Now Barton.”

“If you actually gave me time to respond you wouldn’t have to repeat yourself,” muttered Clint. “What’s going on?”

“Barnes found Wilson.”

“You mean Sam Wilson? Falcon?”

“Yes, now hurry. I’m sending James back up to the plane outside the base,” Natasha said. She then contacted Coulson. “Sam Wilson was found by James. When we finish this and head back to the base I’m going to need you and Stark to be ready for him. He’s in a bad condition.”

“Cap,” she said changing lines, “James is coming up with Wilson. He found him. Make sure they get to the plane safely and then head back to the Hydra base.”

Bucky took a step forward but Natasha glared at him.

“You take care of Sam. Do not argue with me.”

Letting a small sigh escape, Bucky nodded, simply adding, “There are others back there. I left the light on. Make sure you treat them like rabid animals. They’re to dangerous to be let out.”

“Understood, now go.”

Bucky hurried to the stairs, went up from there, and then went to the elevator. He’d thought it odd that Sam hadn’t said anything to Nat but he realized that was because he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer. Bucky wondered how long he’d been awake. Or maybe the pain had just gotten to him.

Moving through floor one, Bucky avoided the area that Sin was in. Once out of the Hydra base, Steve was waiting for them and took him to the plane. Steve made sure that Sam was stable first before leaving, giving a small kiss to his forehead.

Then Bucky was alone with Sam by his side.

He first began reapplying bandages where it looked needed and put ice on the bruises. Seeing him like that, still and in the light, it was obvious how badly beaten he’d been.

Bucky vaguely remembered Rumlow, certainly enough to create a picture in his mind. He wondered what he looked like now. Scarred certainly but Hydra had been known to work miracles and he was probably stronger than he had been before as well. If Bucky was going to kill him, because he swore he would, he’d have to prepare himself physically and mentally for the fight.

Of course, he’d have to keep this from Natasha and especially Steve. Maybe Sam would forget what he’d said earlier but either way, he couldn’t let Steve know of his idea. He could already imagine the disappointment in the man’s face.

But above all Bucky needed Rumlow to pay for what he’d done to Sam and locking him up in some cell wasn’t going to fly with him.

* * *

Steve made another round before heading back to Sin. She looked bored.

“Anything interesting happen?” she asked.

He kept quite.

“Fine! Be that way! I was just wondering.” Sin paused. “Where’s the Winter Soldier?”

“None of your concern.”

She smirked. “I remember meeting him as a kid. He hadn’t come out of cryo yet. He looked just like a crystal doll, all still and perfect. Except for his messy hair. Dad never saw any need to mess with that.”

“If you have nothing of importance to say, I’ll be on my way.”

Steve turned but Sin yelled out, “Hey! I’ll give you my full name for ten minutes of your time.”

“And why would you want ten minutes of my time?”

“Like I said, I’m bored,” she muttered, stretching out the last word. “So, what’ll it be?”

“I can’t guarantee I’ll give you any information.”

“I didn’t think you would. I simply want to talk.”

“Ten minutes?”

“Yep.”

“Then give me your full name,” said Steve.

“Sinthea Schmidt. And that’s with an ‘i’ in my first name, not a ‘y’,” she added.

Steve relayed the information to Coulson to see if he could find out anything about her.

“Now, you probably won’t find much. I will warn you on that fact. I must say though, I’m a little pleased that Winter didn’t get a complete version of the serum like you did,” Sin commented. “Can you imagine him with shoulders as wide as yours? No, he’s much cuter this way. I like the haircut too.”

“Why did you meet him?” Steve interjected. He might as well and try to get something out of her instead of letting her talk for the next ten minutes straight.

“Well,” she said, drawing out the word. “I wasn’t supposed to. Dad was a bit pissed off when he found out but there wasn’t much he could do. Besides, it’s not like I knew anything about the Winter Soldier at the time and we didn’t talk.”

“Have you ever worked with Bucky?”

“On a mission? Gods no! Winter was for the silent, quick in out missions. Just like with the season, it gave people a false sense of hope and security before revealing that the ice was underneath the snow all along. I prefer to go in all laughs and smiles.”

“That’s probably why you got caught then.”

“I wouldn’t say that. I mean, what’s the point in all this if not for any fun?”

Steve could probably right in book in response of that question but kept his mouth shut instead. He wondered if she was actually clinically crazy. Seemed pretty likely. He wondered when she’d made her first kill. When she’d tortured someone because she certainly looked like the type. Steve didn’t ask though, almost positive that she would glorify such achievements and such talk would only make his stomach curl.

While he’d been thinking, she’d kept talking, not seeming able to stop so Steve finally started to walk away.

“Hey! My ten minutes aren’t up yet!”

Pausing, Steve replied, “You get one more sentence.”

“Can it be a question?”

“I think you just gave me one.”

“Cheeky, I like it. Now, what I was going to ask was this; what are you going to do with all the scientists? The guards?”

Silence filled the hall.

“That’s what I thought. Captain America isn’t a cold blooded killer but you no longer have a million different bases to stuff us all in but you can’t let us go either.”

Steve began to walk away.

“This isn’t going to disappear Captain! What will it be? Risking yours, friend’s, and nation’s safety or killing over a hundred people? The clocks ticking!!”


	14. You're a civilian

Once the hydra base was completely analyzed, Steve confronted Fury. “What are we going to do about the prisoners?”

“I don’t think you want to know Rogers.”

“ _What_ are we going to do to them?”

“Repeating yourself won’t make me anymore inclined to answer.”

“And not answering won’t keep me from asking. I’ll find out your plan sooner or later so you might as well tell me.”

Fury looked Steve up and down. “We were going to blow up the base.”

“With the people inside I presume.”

“It’s not like they don’t deserve it.”

“We aren’t the judges _or_ executioners.”

“No, we’re not. We’re not even the law anymore if you want to get technical Rogers,” Fury spit back. “Even if we turned in every single one of those damned people to the United States government, half would be spit back out into the world in less than a month. One of them could infiltrate some high end system. Or we could let them all loose here and now. Which would you have me choose Captain?”

Steve remained silent. He knew none of those people were innocent. He also knew that they no longer had a million secret prisons to stuff them all in. He’d seen what they’d done. He was sure more horrors would pop up once he started looking through some of the files they had. It didn’t mean he still agreed with killing all of them outright.

“What about Sin?” asked Steve.

“What about her?”

“She isn’t some everyday agent for Hydra. And we still haven’t found anything on her. Even if the name she gave us is her real name.”

Giving a small nod, Fury added, “And we still don’t know who dear old dad is either. I suppose I can allow that. I’d better hurry though. I’ve already set the place to blow.”

“You weren’t even going to run it by me first?”

“I was planning on saying it was an accident.”

Both glared at each other for what felt like an hour but probably wasn’t even a minute.

“Better hurry Rogers. Those explosives won’t wait forever.”

Steve turned away and hurried back to the building. Sin was right where he left her. Grabbing her, he pulled her to her feet and started dragging her back to the entrance.

“What’s this? A change of heart Captain? What are you going to do with everyone else?”

“Believe me when I say that I wish I was leaving you behind but you could be of some use to us so you’ll get to see another day.” Really, if he could have picked someone else to pull out of there he would have but none of them would have furthered the cause of stopping Hydra. Sin may have set his skin crawling but there was also something about her and her name that felt familiar.

“Oh, I’ve never heard you talk like that on TV. Cold and angry, I like it,” she said with a smirk. “I’m assuming nothing came up after searching my name?”

“Nothing.”

“Can’t really say it’s a shame then since this is a lot more fun than dying.” Sin sighed dramatically and then asked, “How’s little old Winter doing? Hmm? Anything new to tell? I want all the dirty details.”

Steve gave her a disgusted look and muttered, “We are not friends and I’m not going to just _gossip_ with you.”

“But it’s so fun,” whined Sin as they left the base and made their way to the plane.

They made their way inside the jet and got settled, Steve locking Sin into her seat. He immediately went over to Sam who was still unconscious and was strapped in for the flight. Bucky glanced behind Steve to look over at Sin.

“How are you bad boy?” she asked with a grin.

Bucky repressed a shudder and turned away, focusing on Sam once more. “He still hasn’t woken up.”

“I know Bucky but we can’t stay here the entire flight. You need to strap in.”

Bucky just nodded, finally moving away. They were already far up in the air when the explosion occurred. The rest of the trip was uncomfortable at best and mostly silent except for the occasional comment made by Sin.

When they finally landed, Natasha and Clint took Sin away to an interrogation room and Steve made his way with Bucky and Fury while carrying Sam to Coulson and Tony. Both had already set up a place for Sam during the wait.

Now that Steve could really look at Sam, he saw that he wasn’t in as terrible of a condition as he’d thought. Though badly beaten, it didn’t look life threatening, simply painful.

“Well that’s one mystery solved,” muttered Tony.

“What?” asked Steve.

“I mean, Sam’s disappearance was the whole reason I came on this trip. Now that’s done but we also have Sin to also figure out. I’m still trying to come up with well known Hydra leaders that could be dear old dad but nothing is really fitting. Certainly there isn’t anyone that seems too share her facial features either.”

“She doesn’t exist,” Coulson put in. “At least according to the records.”

“We better figure out soon,” growled Fury. “I don’t like her being here. Stark, I’m ordering you back to the Tower.”

“What? You can’t order me!”

“I can and I will. And you’re taking Barnes and Wilson with you.”

Bucky’s face soured as Tony let his mouth drop, pissed off and confused by the demand. “But _why_!”

“You’re a civilian for one. Also, Wilson needs to be taken care of and I can’t afford to have anyone else leave.”

“But what about Bucky? I don’t want to take him.”

“No offense to Rogers but I still don’t trust him and I didn’t like how Sin was looking at him. My gut is telling me not to leave those two alone together and I’m going to listen to it. Besides, I think Wilson would appreciate a familiar face when he wakes up.”

Tony rolled his eyes at the last comment, knowing it was total bull, but didn’t argue further. “I expect to be updated regularly though. I may be a civilian but you’re dead and personally I think that means I get a higher security clearance than you.”

“Keep dreaming Stark.”

Throwing his hands up in the air, Tony asked, “When do you want us out of here then?”

“As soon as possible.”

“Well at least send some of those files my way. I promised I’d try to give something to Rhodey.”

“You _what_?!”

Tony took a step back, quickly shaking his head back and forth. “Hey, you could give me their bathroom schedules for all I care. Something meaningless. Rhodey is the only reason I’m not a wanted criminal right now and I’d rather not get him fired.”

“Fine. Only after we’ve gone through every single bit though.”

“Fine.”

If the situation hadn’t been so serious, Steve would’ve rolled his eyes. Both were acting pretty childish though that wasn’t anything new for Tony and Fury would’ve cut out his eyes if he’d said such a thing. Instead, he turned to Bucky and asked, “I know you probably want to help but I agree with Fury. You should go with Tony and Sam.”

“I don’t mind,” Bucky replied and he honestly didn’t. Did the urge to kill every Hydra agent just disappear? No, and he still had to kill Rumlow. However, despite these desires, he knew the best idea would be to step away from the situation. He still wasn’t ready to be out in the field, at least not regularly. Besides, he’d rather keep Sam in his sight for now.

Tony suddenly interjected with, “Good, then you and Coulson can get this kid onto my jet. There’s still something else I have to discuss with Fury and Cap.”

“What more could you possibly have to say to me?” muttered Fury but Tony just rolled his eyes in response.

It wasn’t until Bucky was gone and defiantly out of hearing distance that Tony began to talk. “While you guys were in Hydra, Coulson and I found information that has led us to believe…well we think Red Skull is alive.”

“Alive?” asked Steve as the hair on his arms stood on end.

Nick said, “Show me the proof.”

Tony got the device that he and Coulson had looked at earlier. “I figured it wouldn’t be a great idea if Frosty heard about this, hence why we didn’t mention it earlier. Just listen.”

Once the message was over, Fury said, “Do you know that this is actually _the_ Red Skull and not just an impersonator?”

“Well no, and usually I’d say that would be more likely, but with all the shit that seems to happen around us I wouldn’t doubt that it’s actually him,” Tony responded. He threw the device at Fury. “There wasn’t anything else of value that I could find from it but maybe you will.”

Giving a small nod, it was the only thanks Tony would receive. “Keep this information from Barnes.”

“Why do you think I waited until he was gone?”

Fury let out a strangled sigh as Steve rolled his eyes.

“So, I suppose I’m getting out of hair then Capsicle,” muttered Tony.

“I guess so. Keep an eye on them will you?”

“For Captain America? Got it,” Tony said with a grin but the seriousness of the situation hadn’t left his eyes yet. “You be careful to. We don’t need you getting stuck in the ice again until another few decades have passed us by.”

“I’ll try my best Tony.”

He threw Steve another smile and then walked out of the room. He met Coulson on the way back and hugged him before the other knew what was happening. “I swear, if you die on me before I get around to showing you Avengers Tower I’m going to drag you back to the living myself.”

Coulson smiled. “Duly noted Stark.”

Later if asked, Tony would’ve said that there hadn’t been any tears involved with goodbye. It would be one of the biggest lies he ever told.

Tony climbed onto his jet, checking on Bucky and Sam first.

“Everything ready to go?”

“Yes.”

“Do you…uh, need to say goodbye to everyone first or…”

“It’s alright. Just start the plane.”


	15. I'll always be an Avenger

Despite not having an official organization any more, Fury sure had enough secret bases. They were now headed to another one with a facility that could hold Sin. Clint and Natasha hadn’t gotten anything out of her, even when they’d tried some more coercive techniques.

Sin now had an extra broken rib and bruise to the cheek.

“So where are we headed now?” asked Clint as he reexamined the airplane’s controls.

“Another base with a larger focus to keeping things in,” Fury responded.

“So a prison.”

“Basically.”

Clint sighed, mostly wanting to sleep by this point after all the crap that had happened. They’d told him and Natasha about Red Skull being alive and Clint was pretty pissed about it. “Why’d you guys force Barnes to go with Tony? I mean, I know he’s not in the best condition but he’s an amazing fighter and certainly wasn’t bringing us down.”

“Is that a crush I see growing?” Natasha asked, just barely a hint of amusement behind the words. Coulson chuckled. “I’m sorry to say he’s taken.”

“Yeah yeah, I know! And it’s not a damn crush. The guy was amazing, what I saw of him anyways. I was just curious.”

“We’ve neglected to tell him of the Red Skull’s resurrection,” responded Fury. “That and Sin’s connection with him is to personal for my liking. What she did with ‘Sputnik’, I wouldn’t doubt it that there’s some other way of shutting Barnes down.”

“That’s just creepy. Still, can’t help but wonder what that’s like. I wonder if he was aware at all,” muttered Clint.

“Probably best not to think about it,” put in Steve, not wanting to dwell on the topic. “When do you expect we’ll arrive?”

“Another hour? Two at most if we experience turbulence,” Coulson put in.

Sin made a muffled sound from behind.

Fury sighed, allowing his head to roll back and closed his eyes. “Damn I’m glad we muffled her.”

* * *

“So listen, rule twelve is no scaring Pepper.”

Bucky put his head in his hands, really not understanding the point of all this. “Why would I scare your girlfriend?” asked Bucky. “I’ve never even met her.”

“Have you met yourself though? You don’t exactly look like a normal functioning human being.”

“I’m _not_ a normal functioning human being,” Bucky all but growled.

“Okay, point taken. Just try not to glare.”

Bucky glared in response.

“Exactly. Don’t do that. You look like you could murder someone in their sleep.”

Just barely stopping himself from replying that he could do just that, Bucky responded in a strangled voice, “I’ll try not to. Is that it?”

“One more. Rule thirteen, don’t touch my coffee machine.”

“Seriously?” After all the damn ones like ‘don’t run off’ and ‘stay out of my workshop’ he said ‘don’t touch my coffee machine’? “Why?”

“Because last time Thor was over he broke the damn thing and I don’t want you throwing it across the room in annoyance.”

“Thor…he’s the god. Right?”

“With flowing locks of gold? Yep, that’s the one,” Tony responded with a sigh. “Kay, so I’m done with my little rant. Want to get up and walk around? I can get us some food.”

“No thanks.”

“James, he isn’t moving,” growled Tony. “And even if he did wake up there’s nowhere else for him to go. It’s been nearly three hours and you’ve barely moved except for the occasional nod and face palm. Your legs have got to be cramping up on you by now.”

“I’m fine.” In truth, Bucky hated sitting still for so long but he didn’t want to leave Sam. He’d been told that he’d be fine but Bucky could already imagine it. Sam taking one final shuttering breath, no one there to witness it, no one to revive him. Bucky couldn’t take that chance.

“You know, Jarvis will keep an eye on him for you. He’s constantly checking his vitals too so he’ll know if anything goes wrong.”

Jarvis, Bucky had forgotten about the AI. Unless answering a question or making a sarcastic comeback to Tony, the machine didn’t talk much. “Are you sure he’ll—”

“Believe me when I say I’ve put Jarvis through much harder and jarring tasks than this,” Tony said. “Come on. I’m hungry at least and I hate eating without company.”

Slowly, Bucky stood up, giving one last look at Sam. “If that was the only problem, you could’ve just brought some food in here.”

“Yeah, well believe it or not even a narcissist like myself can get sick of the same cabin of my airplane after three hours,” Tony responded, heading to where most of the supplies were kept. The cabinets for the medical supplies hung open and empty, Bucky having moved everything next to Sam in case of an emergency despite Tony’s protests. “So, what do you want to eat?”

“Uh…” Bucky couldn’t remember if he’d ever been in an airplane for commercial reasons. If he had, he was pretty sure they only sold things like peanuts and water. Still, this was Tony’s private jet so he probably had all sorts of things not on other airlines.

“I’ll just choose for you,” Tony amended.

Bucky watched him move around, sometimes forgetting that he was staring and how easily some people were freaked out by such things. It was just that he was so much like Howard. Howard hadn’t been as erratic or as jumpy and full of energy but the way Tony walked, talked, presented himself; it was all Howard. Bucky wondered if Tony’s mother had been erratic or if it was just pure Tony.

He suddenly remembered that he’d killed her too.

It had been indirectly of course but she was still dead because of him. It made Bucky’s stomach curl and he tried to push thoughts of Howard and Maria Stark out of his head.

“Do airplanes usually have a stove?” Bucky asked to distract himself.

“Nope, just mine,” Tony said with a grin. “I put it in so that way I could get a fresh, hot meal if I ever had to travel across the world for some stupid meeting or whatever.”

“Could your suits take you across the world?”

“When I had them? Yeah, easily. But board members don’t usually appreciate you walking into a meeting in a great hunk of metal. I destroyed all my suits but I’m currently starting over now,” Tony added.

“What was it like? Being an Avenger?"

“Being? Still am for all I care. I’ll be eighty-nine and I don’t care if the government _has_ branded us a terrorist organization by then. I will always be Iron Man and I’ll always be an Avenger. Just as I am and will always be Tony Stark.”

Tony had stopped working, fully turning to Bucky to give him his little speech. The fire in his eyes had surprised him but when Tony turned away, it seemed like that particular conversation was over. Tony started humming away but stopped when Bucky spoke up again.

“I don’t want to always be the Winter Soldier.”

“Then don’t.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“I didn’t suggest it would be,” replied Tony. “But if you want to be remembered as James Buchannan Barnes, truly remembered as that man, you’ll have to work for it. I mean, I’ve been in a stable, committed relationship for nearly four years and some papers still say I’m a playboy with little care for a woman’s heart.”

The joke was appreciated but the other words meant even more. Tony hadn’t denied him his hope. He hadn’t called him a monster, someone broken beyond repair. He heard things like this from Steve, Natasha, and Sam all the time but to hear it from someone he barely even knew, someone who didn’t fully trust him and was partially afraid of him, it meant the world to Bucky.

It was only after thinking this over that he finally paid attention to what Tony was making. “Breakfast?”

“I missed lunch and dinner thanks to you and I’m pretty sure it’s about breakfast time somewhere so I figured why not.”

“I feel like that’s your reason for most things, ‘why not,’” Bucky muttered.

“Well why not,” Tony replied with a foolish grin.

Bucky could only roll his eyes to that and resist the urge not to punch him.

* * *

Steve had finally realized where he’d heard the last name. Sin’s real name, Schmidt, it had been rolling around in his head ever since she said it. It was a common enough last name in Germany though so Steve had disregarded it for the time. He should’ve known what it meant.

“You’re Red Skull’s daughter.”

Sin’s head snapped around from where she lay on the floor, her cell not providing a cot. The others were elsewhere. Steve had wanted to confront Sin on the matter first, just to make sure he’d been right, but her reaction was enough.

“So you finally put it together.” She stood up and sauntered over to the bullet proof glass that separated them. “I was wondering if you would. There wasn’t really much to go on.”

“Well you certainly don’t look like your father,” Steve responded.

She laughed. “Are you referring to before or after the super-soldier serum?”

“Both.”

“Well you’re not wrong. Daddy survived by transferring his mind into another body. Similar to how Zola got put into that giant computer,” Sin supplied. “Though really I don’t favor his new body either. I do have his nose though.”

“I suppose you won’t tell me what he looks like now?”

“Nope. I gave it away that he was my father but you’ll see for yourself what he truly looks like now when he decides it’s time to meet you.”

“So his ‘Red Skull’ is no longer that but a mask.”

“Yep, I suppose he never could get rid of his old self entirely,” responded Sin. “Now, run on to your friends and tell them the wonderful news. I’m tired.”

And with that, she walked back to her place on the floor, sat down, and rolled over, going straight to sleep.


	16. Story time

Before arrival Tony called Pepper to catch her up on everything he could in the quickest version. Basically, he wasn’t dead. Afterwards, he called Rhodey and revealed the smallest bit of info that he could about Hydra.

“That’s all you got?” asked Rhodey.

“Well the base blew up before we got out. Killed nearly everyone inside. Got Sam Wilson out though so I suppose that’s good,” Tony responded. He would’ve said more; he did trust Rhodey after all, but he was positive that the government was listening. “I’ll meet you at the Tower, kay?”

“Fine, I’ll see you there Tony.”

Upon arrival at the air field, a rather large van stood waiting with a man leaning on the side of it.

“Happy!” Tony cried out. Bucky stayed behind him at the door. “Come on up. Three people should do the trick.”

“Should do the trick for what?” asked Happy as he climbed up the stairs. “I have to say, this is the first time you told me not to get something sporty and fancy for you.”

“We’re moving a body,” Tony replied, pushing past Bucky and going back into the plane.

“A what—and who is this?” Happy asked.

“I’m…uh Bucky. Bucky Barnes.”

“Hmm,” muttered Happy, giving him a suspicious look.

Bucky wasn’t really surprised by that. He was surprised when his metal arm only got a quick glance and that was it. Granted, the man probably seen stranger being a friend of Tony’s.

“And what’s this about a body?” asked Happy, walking past Bucky and into the plane.

Following, Bucky answered, “He’s my friend. He’s…he was hurt pretty badly.”

Happy’s eyes lit up upon seeing Sam. “We should take him to the hospital!”

“No need, all his wounds have been taken care of,” responded Tony. “Besides, the only thing the hospital could give him is food and a bed and I can provide both of those better than them. Now come on, we need to be gentle about this.”

It took sometime but they finally got Sam into the back of the van and strapped down so he wouldn’t jostle around to much.

Bucky was a bit confused when Happy got into the passenger’s seat and Tony started driving, especially since he’d mentioned Happy was his chauffeur, but Bucky didn’t question it, remaining by Sam’s side the entire ride.

Bucky had heard and seen pictures of what had formerly been Stark Tower and later been dubbed Avenger’s Tower. Instead of going through the front entrance though, they used a back route that led into a garage.

They began to move Sam up to one of the higher rooms as Tony said, “Hey Jarvis, Pepper here?”

“Yes sir. She has set up the fifth guest room on the Ninety-Third Floor.”

“Is he integrated into everything you own?” muttered Bucky.

“Yep. He’s pretty helpful most of the time.”

“Most of the time? May I say I very much resent that sir,” Jarvis retorted, a hurt sound in his voice.

“Oh hush. You know I love ya,” Tony responded with a grin. “God I wish I had a stretcher or something right now.”

They got Sam into the elevator and then went up to floor Ninety-Three. They got to the room and after making Sam comfortable, Tony asked, “Where’s Pepper right now?”

“On the top floor with Sergeant Rhodes,” Jarvis said.

“Rhodey’s already here? Great, let’s go then.”

“Is there anything else you need Tony?” Happy asked.

“Nope, thanks for the help though. I’ll talk to you later,” Tony said. He then turned towards Bucky and said, “Come on, you might as well meet Pep and Rhodey.”

“But—”

“Don’t worry, Jarvis is monitoring him. He’ll be fine Bucky.”

“Alright.”

As Happy went down a different elevator, Bucky and Tony headed upwards. They walked into a living room where already a man and woman were talking. Bucky assessed the room, noticing the huge window allowing a terrific view of the city.

“Tony, are you alright! Rhodey said the Hydra base blew up,” Pepper said hurriedly. She looked halfway in between worried and pissed.

“Well, it sort of did. I wasn’t actually there,” Tony said slowly.

Pepper looked like she was about to hit him while Rhodey let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. “I figured as much.”

“Well, I had to say something and I wasn’t sure who was listening in. Speaking of which, did they try putting a recording device on you again?”

“No, that was one time Tony and I’m pretty sure you scared them into never doing that again.”

“Good, it’s not nice to listen in on other people’s conversations. I suppose I should tell you both what really happened though.”

“Great but first off who is…” but then Rhodey’s voice fell away, his eyes having zeroed in on the arm. “Why is the Winter Soldier here?”

It was probably only due to his trust in Tony that kept him from going into an offense of defensive position. For that, Tony was grateful as he quickly said, “This is Bucky. Not the Winter Soldier. But how did you know that anyways?”

“I read every file that Hydra and Shield spit out onto the internet,” Rhodey said slowly. “There wasn’t much on the Winter Soldier, just that he had a metal arm. Wait, so Sergeant James Barnes is the Winter Soldier? You’re the guy whose fingerprints were in that house?”

“Yes and that is not information for the government,” Tony added.

“Are there any other people from the 40s that aren’t as dead as the records say that I should know about?” Rhodey asked.

“Nope, just him and Cap as far as I know. But as far as the government is concerned, Barnes is dead to the world and so is the Winter Soldier.”

“So we can trust him?”

Tony shrugged. “Maybe, I don’t really know but Steve trusts him with his life so at the moment so do I. Now, before we get into anymore questions, how about I just tell you how we got here.”

It actually did take a while, mostly because Pepper and Rhodey found plenty of time to yell at Tony at how reckless he was and how he really shouldn’t be getting involved in such things, especially without his suits.

Nevertheless, Tony did leave out the part of how Bucky killed his father. Bucky honestly wasn’t sure why but was grateful, even if he did feel guilty about keeping it a secret. He also noted how Tony kept Coulson out of the story. He figured it was less because he _wanted_ to keep it secret and more so to just keep things as simple as possible.

“But you’re staying here. Right Tony?” asked Rhodey.

“For now, yeah.”

“No, not for now. Tony you can’t just—” But Pepper was cut off as Jarvis suddenly piped up.

“Wilson is awake and it appears that…”

Bucky was already running, drowning out anything Jarvis had to say. However, he did hear Tony shout out, “Stairs on the right!”

Bucky was thankful. He didn’t have time for the elevator. It took him about thirty seconds to get to the room and he rushed to Sam’s side, holding him still as he thrashed about. For a moment, Sam struggled against him and then finally seemed to come to his senses.

“I thought you were Rumlow,” Sam admitted after some labored breathing.

“You’re safe, don’t worry. He’s not here,” Bucky murmured softly, resting his forehead on Sam’s back, pulling him close.

“Where am I?”

“At Avengers Tower. Tony Stark helped—”

“Wait a minute,” Sam said; twisting around in Bucky’s arms and even in the low lighting, Bucky could see the wonder in his eyes. “You’re telling me I’m in Iron Man’s house? Like actual Iron Man?”

Bucky couldn’t believe it. One moment Sam was thrashing around, probably thinking he was still being tortured, and the next he looked so shocked and happy that it was almost comical. Sometimes Sam Wilson just really surprised Bucky, especially when he was least expecting it.

“Uh—”

“Seems like I’ve got another fan. Not to surprising, I am pretty irresistible-ouch!” Tony cried out as Pepper elbowed him in the side. “What was that for?”

Bucky wasn’t sure if taking the elevator just took a long time, they had purposely let him and Sam have some alone time, or if time had just passed slower. Either way, it was still a bit shocking, the man seeming to come out of nowhere with Pepper and Rhodey behind him.

“As amazing as this is,” Sam said slowly, “I’d now like to ask _why_ I’m here.”

“Cap thought it best that you rest up here and Fury wanted me out of the way to which I suppose is understandable,” muttered Tony with a role of his eyes.

“But-wait you met with Fury?” asked Sam.

“Oh brother, looks like today is story time. Let’s start from the beginning,” Tony said, plopping into the only chair in the room. “Do you remember when you called me about finding Bucky?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is now caught up with what I've posted on FF. The next chapter will come out as soon as possible. I hope you're enjoying this so far.


	17. Rescue

“The Twins’ codenames are Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. They were formed from Project Orphan,” Natasha informed Fury after going through all information.

“And do we know where they are now?”

“No sir. That information was kept out of any files. It would appear they are weapons with little or no thinking capabilities; at least that’s what the files claimed. I found some back routes that show there were plenty of problems with certain orders though.”

“So it’s like what happened to Bucky,” Steve said.

“Yes, except these kids were raised this way, any feelings or thoughts that ever counteracted Hydra’s ideals were erased. It appears that the only problem with them is that human emotions keep resurfacing despite their efforts.”

“So they’re bad but not quite so bad,” Clint amended. “They’re still dangerous though, right? I mean, if push came to shove we’d better taking them down than anything, right?”

Natasha glanced at Steve, knowing that he wouldn’t like it, but she nodded anyways and replied, “Yes, I would certainly suggest that.”

“Who led the operation?” asked Coulson.

“Baron von Strucker.”

“Who is he?” asked Fury.

“It would appear another leader of Hydra. Going through the files I’ve noticed something, very few correspond with the events and files from Pierce. There’s also no mention of the Red Skull.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning that yes, Hydra is still very much out there but I believe it is also very broken. Clearly the different groups are all going towards the same goal but none seem to agree on the way to that, if I were to guess,” Natasha replied. “I wouldn’t even be surprised if Pierce didn’t even know of Red Skull’s existence.”

“Then we need to find away to get _something_ out of Sin if she’s—” Fury was stopped mid sentence as alarms around the base blared off. “How many?!”

Coulson rushed to a consol. “All our cameras are down, there’s no way to know.”

“Coulson, Rogers, guard the prisoner! Barton and Romanoff with me,” Fury shouted out as he rushed out of the room. Clint and Natasha followed, all heading towards the entrance to the base. Having only one entrance would certainly make it easier.

It didn’t take long before Steve and Coulson made it to Sin’s cell. She was standing up, looking around with a perfectly innocent expression on her face. Upon seeing the pair, she smiled.

“It’s integrated into my spinal column.”

Steve shook his head. “What?”

“A track device. Makes it impossible to take out without killing me and it’s cloaked so that it can’t be picked up by incompatible devices. You could call it a failsafe,” she responded with a smile.

“You…damn it,” Coulson finally growled out. He turned his back on her and looked at the door. He moved to the side, put in some codes, and then locked the entire thing down. He then opened up a secret panel and pulled a huge gun.

“Is that—”

“The Destroyer Armor Gun? Yep, and it’s not the prototype if you’re curious.”

“You really think your toys are going to stop them? Come on, this is going to be child’s play,” Sin replied, leaning against the glass. “If you’re lucky they’ll kill you the moment they come in here.”

Steve looked like he was working up a response to that when suddenly a knock of all things sounded on the door. Coulson and Steve froze.

“Anyone home?”

Steve knew that voice and yet, even after being told by Bucky that the man was alive he couldn’t quite believe it. “Rumlow?”

“Hey Cap,” he replied from the other side. “Figured you might be here.”

“Are Natasha and Clint down?” asked Steve. “Fury?”

“What? No, they’re beating the shit out of some Hydra agents right now.”

“Then how did you get around them?” Coulson asked.

“I didn’t. Used the back door,” Rumlow responded.

Coulson frowned. “There is no backdoor.”

“Had to make one.”

“Baby, stop _talking_ ,” Sin finally butted in. “I’m sure Ms. America and the cutie with the big gun are just as tired of your talking as I am. It’s his biggest downfall.”

“Hey, next time you’re saving my ass then you can make demands but how about you shut up right now. I’m catching up with an old friend!”

“I’d hardly call us friends,” growled out Steve.

“Yeah I suppose so because I told you it was nothing personal last time but this time,” Rumlow said, “it’s a little personal. Sweetie, did you say something about a cutie with a big gun?”

“Sure thing.”

“Hmm, we’ll see about that.”

Steve could hear it, the sound familiar. Rumlow was breaking in. It was possible this would work but it was also just as likely it might not. Both Steve and Coulson readied themselves but when the click sounded nothing happened.

“Guess I’ll have to improvise.”

For a moment there was silence. “Rumlow what—ah!”

Steve and Coulson were thrown backwards against the glass as nearly the entire wall blew up and came at them. Nevertheless, the glass behind them withstood the impact, crushing them both in between the concrete and the prison wall.

Struggling with the wall, he was suddenly forced down as a weight jumped on top of the concrete.

“I know you’re strong Rogers but can you lift this? No? I didn’t think so,” commented Rumlow from above. “Huh, didn’t even make a scratch. Let’s see what other toys will work.”

“Natasha, we’re—”

“Oh no, none of that,” Rumlow cut in giving a solid jump on top of the concrete. No talking to friends. I’m sure they’re busy anyways. You don’t want to distract them do you?”

Steve only grunted, succeeding in lifting part of the concrete up by moving his position over Coulson. He was still conscious but just barely. The weight was killing Steve but he stayed above him. “Coulson,” he whispered. “Coulson.”

“Still here,” he murmured, eyes blinking open. “Rumlow…”

“Above us,” Steve softly responded.

“Well that explains why you’re so heavy.”

Steve gave a soft chuckle but stopped as he heard a noise above him.

Rumlow sighed. “Ah, so that’s how it works. Just one moment.”

“Come on come on. I’m _restless_ here,” muttered Sin.

“Well next time don’t get kidnapped.”

There was sound of movement from above and then suddenly a second weight was added on top of them.

“Time to get out of here,” Rumlow said.

* * *

After being told the whole story of what had happened, everyone except Bucky had left. That gave Sam about five hours of rest before everything started to go to hell. Alarms began to go off and after about a minute, Tony ran in.

“Okay, so this was going to be a surprise and I know you’re injured but I honestly don’t think two people are going to do it for us.”

“Uh Mr. Stark…”

“For the last time Sam I told you to call me Tony. Now Bucky, help me get him to my workshop.”

Bucky helped Sam get up and they both followed Tony as quickly as possible. Tony kept running forward and then running back to where they were, back and forth.

“What the hell is going on and what do you mean two people aren’t enough? What about, uh the other guy—”

Tony cut Bucky off and replied, “Rhodey left and Pepper’s gone to. So is everyone else here. It’s nearly nine o’clock at night.”

“But what the hell is happening?!”

“Jarvis spotted a plane of unknown origins. It already shot down a US fighter jet when trying to get into US airspace. At the moment it’s headed straight for us,” Tony said as they got into the elevator. He pressed the button to the floor above them. “The US government is already sending out planes to intercept it but it’s not going to work. It’s just to fast.”

“And what the hell are we going to do about it?” asked Bucky. “And what does Sam have to do with this.”

Practically jumping up and down, Tony jumped out of the elevator and waved for them all to come forwards. “Like I said, it was supposed to be a surprise. Steve asked me to but it’s not finished-hell my suit isn’t finished-but it’s the best we can do at the moment.”

“But that guy, Rhodey, he has a suit doesn’t he?” asked Sam with a huge gasp. “Couldn’t he—”

“I am not bringing him into this. Besides, he wouldn’t be able to get here in time anyways,” Tony responded, walking into his workshop. “Jarvis, bring up the Falcon suit.”

“Wait, but—” Sam stopped mid sentence as he looked at it. “It’s…”

“Wonderful, beautiful, amazing, yes I know but you can tell me that later. For now, Frosty help him into his wings. Jarvis, send out Mark 44.”

“You do realize it will be insufficient for complete protection as—”

“Jarvis, I know just send it out.”

“What about that?” asked Sam, pointing to a different suit that looked complete as Bucky helped get the straps and pack around Sam. “Couldn’t that work?”

“Mark 43 was specifically made for Pepper. It wouldn’t fit me.”

“Mr. Wilson has a point though,” Jarvis responded. “The weapons’ systems are fully functioning along with its flying capabilities.”

“It won’t fit-hey!” Tony struggled as the suit broke apart and suddenly began to close in around him. He was right, it really didn’t fit and if circumstances had been different, it would’ve even caused a smile from Bucky.

“God this is uncomfortable,” Tony growled as he wiggled about. “Oh well, time to see who our visitors are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to put in that Mark 43 is essentially Rescue from the comics so yeah, really doesn't fit Tony to well.


	18. One good reason

Tony was still shifting around in the suit, trying to make himself comfortable as Bucky finished helping Sam when the first bullets began to rain down on them.

“Down!” Tony yelled out. “The wings! Get your-yep that’s it!”

Sam hadn’t been sure why Tony would want the wings out now, seeing as they would only be damaged, but it suddenly made sense once the bullets started bouncing off. He covered Bucky with it and yelled out, “You made them bullet proof?!”

“Yep, same stuff as Cap’s shield! But I’ll tell you how I got it later! Oh, and I integrated an Arc Reactor into it so no need to worry about running out fuel!”

“That’s great but I think I’d rather know who the hell is shooting at us!”

Tony muttered something about being inconsiderate but quickly asked Jarvis what the hell was going on. “They seem to be aiming for the top of the Tower,” Jarvis said, no longer projecting into the room and instead, just into Tony’s helmet. When they stopped firing, he added, “Several men have just climbed down a ladder and are now on the top floor.”

Tony looked, detecting through sound and heat where exactly the figures were. He raised his arm, made sure the calibrations were right, waited, and then fired. The force went through the floors above them, all the way to the uppermost one, and ended with a scream from above.

“An unexpected move but one you cannot continue to use if you do not want this upper half crashing down on you or your friends,” a voice said, projecting its way down the hole.

Bucky snapped his face around. He knew that voice but from where?

“Probably so but what if I did this!” Tony suddenly shot up the hole just as Sam yelled out his name.

Sam winced, cursed, and then said, “You go around and take the stairs. I’m going in for an aerial attack.”

“Are you sure you can?” asked Bucky.

“Probably not. I’m sure something is going to get thrown out of place but I doubt the only thing getting thrown around up there is the intruders.”

Sam rushed over to the window and muttered, “I hope he didn’t change where _everything_ was,” and then jumped out the already shattered window.

Bucky waited but upon seeing the streak move back up, he no longer felt worried as he ran to where the staircase was and headed up until reaching the top floor. New gun fire had sounded, courtesy of Sam but what Bucky did not expected to see was Red Skull in a fist fight with Tony.

He almost froze up, trying to figure out exactly how this could be, but when one of the people started attack him, he went into full fledged battle mode, concentrating little on Tony or the Red Skull and just trying to not get surrounded.

The plane had moved from its position beside the building as Bucky saw out of the corner of his eye Sam flying by and firing at it or the HYDRA agents nearest to the monstrous opening they’d blown in the building’s side.

Tony was trying to get a shot in but almost immediately Red Skull had pushed in, closing the gap. The armor made Tony stronger but he was good with accuracy, far off combat. Not this and he could already tell if he kept at it he might lose.

He tried to fire at Red Skull’s face but was blocked. Tony kept going though, instead trying to grab at the man’s face. He was extremely shocked when the thing he’d thought of as a skull gave way and began to pull off.

He was even more shocked when below it he saw Steve.

“Steve…” Tony didn’t get in another word as the Red Skull flipped and landed a solid kick to Tony’s gut, sending him down. “Steve what—”

“It’s a clone,” Jarvis cut in.

“A clone?”

“Yes, that’s the only logical explanation I can come up with.”

Of course, Red Skull couldn’t hear Jarvis but he did hear Tony and grinned. “Very good Stark. A clone is exactly what I am.”

Hearing the voice and seeing the actual face was like watching a dubbed movie, it just didn’t fit. Seeing the smile made Tony’s skin crawl. Nevertheless, Tony wasn’t one for leaving things hanging and the talking had allowed an opening so he fired.

Red Skull flew backwards but Tony was shocked to see it hadn’t pierced the armor he was wearing. Tony still went at him, going forward as he yelled out, “Frosty! Before you do anything stupid it’s still the Skull!”

“I heard!” he yelled back, kicking one HYDRA agent off the edge of the Tower. “Any ideas?!”

“I have one,” Bucky and Tony both did a double take as they heard the voice that seemed to be projecting from the plane. “I gotta say Skull,” Sam continued, “it was just too easy slipping in here.”

Several large guns turned, extending, and pointed themselves right at Red Skull.

“Now,” Sam said, the wheezing in his voice still there but not making him sound any less in control, “give me one good reason not to blow off your head.”

* * *

Once Rumlow and Sin had gone, inch by inch, Steve continued to try in pushing the concrete off.

“Natasha. Can you spare some time?” he asked over the coms.

“Just finished,” she said. “What’s the problem?”

“Sin’s escaped with Rumlow. Try to find him.”

“Are you and Coulson alright?”

“We’re fine. Just try to catch them before they leave,” Steve said hurriedly.

“Understood, Clint is on his way to you. Fury is staying by the entrance just in case but I think they’re all gone.”

“Thanks,” murmured Steve. He took in a deep breath and then continued to try and free himself and Coulson.

A gasp from behind suddenly was heard along with, “Oh god! Cap! Coulson! Please tell me you guys are alive in there.”

“Yeah. I…I think I may have a concussion,” Coulson said, slowly blinking his eyes.

“Okay, let’s see, what to do,” muttered Clint. He rushed to a section of the broken wall and asked, “You guys over here?”

“You sound closer. Try lifting just a bit. It could be enough,” Steve said.

Clint tried, his muscle’s straining, but Steve was able to use it as leverage and quickly dragged himself and Coulson out from under it. As Coulson assessed how much damage he had sustained, Steve asked, “What happened on your end?”

“Nothing really. It was a piece of cake keeping them back and getting the ones that tried to sneak through. We—”

“I see where Rumlow and Sin went but they’re long gone Rogers,” Natasha interrupted through the coms. “I’m on my way back.”

“Forget them,” Fury suddenly spoke up. “I just got a call from Hill that the Tower is being attack. She’s down at the bottom floor, it’s completely locked off and she can’t get in.”

“Does she have any idea as to who it could be?”

“Nothing to go by except a lot of gunfire from above but they’re probably HYDRA agents. A lot of people hate Stark but I doubt they would gun down his building just because of it.”

“We need to get to them then,” Steve said.

“Make sure Coulson is okay first,” Fury replied, “then meet me at the jet.”


	19. Reassemble

After landing, Steve, Natasha, Clint, Coulson, and Fury drove to Avengers Tower. News helicopters flew around it and reporters and citizens surrounded the base of the Tower making it near impossible to move through. Of course, Captain America was in the group so that eased things a bit. The doors opened for them and quickly shut as a rather tired sounding Jarvis said, “Finally some friendly faces.”

Steve had honestly never heard the AI sound so annoyed. “Is everyone alright Jarvis?”

“They’re fine. It’s only thanks to Colonel Rhodes and Tony’s standing that this place isn’t crawling with military either. They’re on the third highest floor currently,” Jarvis replied. The AI went silent for a moment as the group made their way to the elevator and then added, “I must say, for being dead, Mr. Coulson and Mr. Fury, you both look quite well.”

“I see Tony’s been rubbing off on you,” Fury said, crossing his arms and leaning against the back of the elevator.

“It would appear so,” Jarvis responded and Steve could almost feel the smile in the words.

The nonchalant way that Jarvis spoke eased Steve of any worries and finally the elevator stopped and they were let out.

“They are in the bedroom, three doors on your left.”

“Thank you Jarvis,” Steve replied and the group headed there.

When Jarvis had said ‘they’, he’d expected it to only be Bucky, Sam, and maybe Tony. Instead, they found a room of yelling adults which include, Bucky, Sam, and Tony along with Pepper, Rhodey, Happy Hogan, and Maria Hill. Of course, they all froze when the group moved into the room.

Pepper was the first to react. “Tony!”

“Hey hey!” he cried out, quickly shielding his face. “Telling you would have just made things more complicated! I was trying to hurry things along!”

Pepper let out a huff but the moment she turned away from Tony, her face lit up in a brilliant smile and it was clear she was trying not to cry. She walked forward and hugged Coulson, saying, “It’s so good to see you again.”

“It’s good to see you as well Pepper,” he responded, pulling back with a smile.

“Is this—”

“Phil Coulson? Yep,” Tony said, answering Rhodey’s unfinished question.

“And who is—”

“Nick Fury. Don’t tell anyone though because I’m pretty sure he’d gut me if you did,” Tony responded as Fury glared at him across the room.

As that discussion occurred, Natasha moved over to Sam who was the only one she’d seen not talking (Bucky having been yelling at Tony just like everyone else). He lay on the bed, looking worse than before but conscious at least.

Natasha gave a small smile as she sat beside him. “I hear you had an exciting time with this idiot.”

“You could say that,” Sam smiling back despite the pain. “He fixed my wings. Said Steve talked to him about it or something.”

“Yeah, it was supposed to be a surprise. What happened here?”

Sam quickly told her the story with much more detail and a lot fewer words compared to Tony and the others who kept interrupting and shouting things about being irresponsible. Rhodey was still peeved about not being called until _after_ the fight was over and it seemed like everyone agreed he should have called him.

However, their bickering was cut short when Natasha quickly turned to Tony and said, “You have Red Skull _here_?”

Fury’s glare turned back to Tony. “ _Stark_ —”

“I was getting to it but you guys wouldn’t let me finish! Geeze!” cried out Tony. He slid a hand through his hair and shook his head. “Come on then, I think everyone needs to see this.”

“I think I’ll stay here,” Sam put in. “I’ve seen enough of that creep for one day.”

“I’ll stay with you,” Bucky added.

“Well, since that’s settled, time for the school field trip. Everyone follow me,” he said bounding off and leaving a very large and confused group behind him. He ran back and added, “Since we all are obviously not going to fit in one elevator, I’ll tell you this now. It’s in the basement level now come on!”

Eventually, everyone had gotten to the basement, Tony waiting for everyone to pile in. “Now,” he said, “before you yell at me Fury I figured you’d rather have a hold of this guy than the government so don’t blame me about keeping this secret.”

Tony came to a door and pushed a few buttons. The clicks resonated in the basement as the door slowly came apart, at least several feet thick. On the inside, they found numerous doors, looking very much like the one they had just come through.

“Some weird torture chamber Stark?” asked Natasha with a raised eyebrow.

“What?! No way, they’re cells. Call me paranoid but I figured it might be a good idea because no offense Rhodey, there have been to many escaped convicts to my liking. It’s the last one on the right,” Tony finished, walking to the last cell.

“Tony, this is more than paranoid,” Clint replied. “This is bordering on insane. Not that you’ve ever been anything else.”

“Shut up Katniss,” Tony replied as he pressed a few more buttons. The door moved but beyond that was a clear plastic almost as thick as the door. “Once they’re in it’s nearly impossible to get them back out. Hey Skull, how about you turn around show off your new face.”

The group watched as the form stood up, head held high. The gasp that went through the room when he turned around might as well have been staged it was so perfect. The Skull slowly approached them, stopping several feet away from the plastic.

“Force field,” Tony whispered.

“Captain America, it’s good to see you face…to face,” the Red Skull said with a small nod. “I see you’ve brought your friends along. Hawkeye and Black Widow, members of the Avengers. Then War Machine and the Winter Soldier. I can’t say I know any of the others.”

“Nor will you ever need to,” Steve replied. “How-how are you even alive?”

“My body was badly damaged but my conscience was still intact. Dr. Zola created a clone, one where the Serum had actually worked, and then transferred my conscience into it.”

“Then Sin is technically—”

“Your daughter? Yes, so to speak. I’m not surprised you’ve met her. She has been working more with von Strucker as of late.”

“What can you tell us about him?”

“Everything,” the Red Skull replied. “But I will tell you nothing.”

“He’s been talking like this since I’ve put him in here the pretentious bastard,” muttered Tony. “Well, lovely talking to you but we must go.”

The Red Skull kept his eyes trained on Steve the entire time before the door finally closed. It was only afterwards that Steve finally shuttered.

“Tony, did you check him for tracking devices for—” but Steve was cut short.

Tony replied, “Yep, and besides, if he has something on him my machines can’t detect, the signal won’t reach anyone anyways. This base is impregnable for all signal types. You can’t even make a damn call down here.”

“What happened to the other HYDRA agents,” asked Fury. “What about their equipment?”

“I was able look over a lot of it but nothing to new that he could see. After that, the military swooped in and napped everyone else but I was able to get the evil Steve doppelganger down here before that happened. What about you guys and Sin?”

“She escaped,” Coulson replied. “A tracking device meshed into her spine.”

“Damn, I wish I could’ve gotten a look at that,” muttered Tony. Shaking his head, he continued, “Well now you all basically know what happened here and I have a question about all this. Now, I know you guys have been working from the shadows but it’s clear that at least part of HYDRA is willing to strike in the middle of the day in a very powerful city. To counteract that, here’s my suggestion. We reassemble the Avengers.”

Fury raised an eyebrow. “What are you looking at me for? I have no say in the matter. Remember, I’m dead. But good luck finding Thor and Banner.”

“I already know where Bruce is though Thor might be a problem.”

“I know how to get in touch with Jane Foster. She’ll be able to get a message to Thor,” Coulson put in.

“Great, then I guess I just have to ask one more person,” Tony said, turning to Steve. “I trust your opinion most of all. Do you think the Avengers are needed once more and if so, will you lead them again?”

Steve smiled, “Of course, what kind of question is that?”


	20. A new life

It was over but it wasn’t over. That was the best way Bucky could describe it. The Red Skull was captured, Sam was back, and HYDRA had gone quit again but they would be back. Not even cutting off the source would ever finish off HYDRA. They’d just create a new nest so to speak. To get rid of HYDRA every single agent would have to be eradicated. Nevertheless, this chapter of HYDRA was gone.

And despite everything, Bucky felt better coming out of the situation than he had in a long time. He’d made a difference, saved people, something that he hadn’t done in a long time. Bucky no longer felt shame for the short hair, for looking more like himself. There were still things he couldn’t remember and he certainly didn’t trust himself completely, but he no longer felt like a rabid animal.

Now, the biggest decision that had been put in his way would have to be answered.

For the past month, Bucky, Steve, Nat, and Sam had stayed at the Tower. He’d met Dr. Banner, otherwise known as the Hulk, and Clint Barton was there as well. Thor the god wasn’t always in but he kept in close communication with the group and when Pepper, Hill, and now Coulson was added to the group it kept the tower fairly full. Rhodey also popped in often.

Fury hadn’t been seen in a while but Steve claimed he’d contacted him recently.

With a place so full and Jarvis literally everywhere, Bucky hadn’t found time to hide and sulk, not like before anyway. He practically had to socialize and Thor certainly had no qualms when it came to talking to him.

Tony had also eased up, eventually forcing Bucky to come down to the lab with him and Bruce so they could improve his arm. Bucky even picked up a few terms.

When Clint wasn’t being annoying as hell, Bucky found out he was actually pretty amusing too. He already liked Coulson and Pepper was very kind to him which was surprising at first. The few times Hill and Bucky talked he got the same vibe from her as Natasha, charming and one of the most dangerous people in the room.

Even Jarvis was a pleasure to talk to when people were gone or busy.

Bucky had been brought back by Steve, Natasha, and Sam but the Avengers as a whole had helped pull him out of his shell, usually despite his protests.

But since Sam was nearly done healing, Bucky didn’t know what would happen. Would they go back to Sam’s place? Stay at the Tower? Go somewhere else? He had planned to confront Steve on it but instead ran into Natasha.

Before he could say anything though Natasha said, “What is it?”

“Oh…I was just…do you know how long we’re staying here?” asked Bucky. He considered himself a spy like Natasha (or at least ex-spy or whatever) but he swore the woman had some type of sixth sense that allowed her to read people’s minds.

“Steve and I need to stay but you and Sam don’t have to,” Natasha answered. “I signed up for this but you didn’t. It’s your choice whether you stay with us or not.”

“You mean I can choose?”

Natasha allowed a small quirk of her lips to show. “Of course.” She gave him a small kiss and then continued on to wherever she had been headed beforehand.

Bucky watched her go and then took a deep breath, heading towards Sam’s room. Sam’s bones were still on the mend meaning he couldn’t do his morning jogs like he use to and required him to stay mostly in bed. All bruises and cuts were long since healed though.

“James,” Sam said with a smile. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to know your plans after you were healed. I mean…did you plan to go back to your home?”

“Eventually, yeah. It’s great here but I certainly miss my own space. Still, I was planning on just jumping ship the moment I could,” Sam replied. “Why?”

“I feel…I think…” Bucky trailed off, trying to collect his thoughts. “I think…I want to stay. I don’t mind it here certainly. And Steve and Nat are staying so…I don’t know….”

“You don’t have to follow me you know. Or the others for that matter.”

“I know but I want to be with all of you. That’s kind of hard when one of them is several states away.”

“So are you asking to stay with me or for me to stay here?”

“I’m honestly not sure.”

Sam gave a small smile. “Well do you have any other reasons to stay, besides myself, Natasha, and Steve?”

“I suppose I do. I feel…good being here. I can help people and the people here know me. I don’t have to lie to them…at least not most of the time.”

“Then I’ll stay. Besides, once I’m healed I’ll be able to properly try out that suit Tony made,” Sam said with a grin. “I wouldn’t want to leave you guys anyways. I don’t want to just leave my old life, my home and everything, but I certainly don’t want to leave this one yet either.”

“So that’s a yes.”

“Of course,” Sam said with a smile.

* * *

“So we’re not getting your father,” Rumlow said slowly. His legs were kicked up onto a desk as he watched Sin walk back and forth. The room had been full only moments ago but Sin had yelled everyone out. “Can you tell me why?”

“For one, the cell is impregnable! We don’t have the technology to get in there. Besides, we don’t have the money or time to develop technology to get in there!” yelled Sin with a growl.

“Well what are we going to do?”

“I’ll run this operation,” Sin replied. “You really think I’ve been doing nothing for the past month? I’ll have to whip a few of them into submission, they certainly won’t be happy about me being in charge, being a woman and all.”

“They’ll have to,” Rumlow replied. “Either that or death as I see it. Still, your dad he—”

“Was a failure who should have died long ago. I’ll crush the Avengers but first we must become great again.” She turned to Rumlow. “I will do more than my father ever did and change the world!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was so late in coming. I plan on writing a sequel later but I don't know when I'll start it. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks!


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